wobbly
/ˈwɒbli/ (bre, ipa) · [wˈɑbəli] /ˈwɑːbli/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈwɒb.əl.i/ (bre, ipa) · [wˈɑbəli] /ˈwɑː.bəl.i/ (ame, ipa) · [wˈɑbəli] /ˈwä-blē/ (ame, mw)
wobbly — adjective
- wobblypositive
- more wobblycomparative
- most wobblysuperlative
1. moving with small shakes because something is loose, broken, or weak — for examp
moving with small shakes because something is loose, broken, or weak — for example a chair with a short leg, or someone's knees just after a long run up the stairs.
Talia tightened the screws because the kitchen stool was getting wobbly.
physical object: wobbly furniture
Hiro's front tooth had been wobbly for three days before it finally fell out.
wobbly tooth — common collocation for loose body parts
After climbing six floors of stairs, Heather's legs felt wobbly and weak.
The little wooden bridge over the stream was wobbly and made the children laugh.
Don't put the vase on that table — one of the legs is wobbly.
- shaky
near-synonym; works for both physical things and abstract situations, while 'wobbly' leans physical.
- unsteady
more formal; often used of people walking or standing.
- rickety
stronger; suggests an old, half-broken structure (chair, ladder) that may collapse.
- loose
focuses on the cause — a connection coming apart; 'wobbly' focuses on the resulting motion.
用法筆記
Often describes furniture, teeth, body parts (knees, legs), or small structures that visibly shake or shift. Frequently used as a predicative adjective after 'be', 'feel', 'get', or 'go'.
常見錯誤
2. feeling unsure, or keeping changing your mind between two options — used about p
feeling unsure, or keeping changing your mind between two options — used about people hesitating over a choice, or about decisions, opinions, and deals that may suddenly collapse.
Two members of the team are still wobbly about signing the new contract.
be wobbly about + noun/gerund
Public support for the new tax was wobbly from the first day of the campaign.
abstract noun + be wobbly — opinion or support that may collapse
Elena had been wobbly all week about whether to accept the job in Berlin.
The deal looked wobbly after the lawyer raised three new questions on Friday.
- shaky
very close; often interchangeable but slightly less colloquial.
- hesitant
focuses on the person pausing before acting; 'wobbly' adds the sense that they might switch sides.
- uncertain
neutral and more formal; lacks the suggestion that the position could collapse.
- vacillating
formal; emphasises swinging back and forth between two views.
用法筆記
Distinct from sense 1 in that the subject is an abstract noun (decision, support, opinion, deal). Often follows 'be' or 'look', and is followed by 'about' + noun or 'about' + whether-clause when the subject is a person.
常見錯誤
wobbly — noun
1. a sudden burst of loud anger or upset behaviour, usually short and a bit childis
a sudden burst of loud anger or upset behaviour, usually short and a bit childish — almost always used in the phrase 'throw a wobbly'.
Bilal threw a wobbly when the waiter forgot his order for the second time.
throw a wobbly — the fixed verb phrase the noun appears in
Megan's little brother threw a wobbly in the supermarket because she said no to sweets.
throw a wobbly about a small upset
The coach threw a complete wobbly after the team lost the final by one point.
Don't tell Christopher about the broken window or he'll throw a wobbly.
文法句型
throw a wobbly
用法筆記
Almost exclusively occurs as the object of 'throw' (sometimes 'have' or 'pull'). Common intensifiers are 'complete', 'total', or 'right'. The noun is rarely used outside this fixed pattern.