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 — 形容詞
- wobblypositive
- more wobblycomparative
- most wobblysuperlative
1. moving with small shakes because something is loose, broken, or weak — for examp
搖晃的
因鬆動或虛弱而左右晃動
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.
Talia 把螺絲鎖緊，因為廚房的高腳凳越來越搖晃。
physical object: wobbly furniture
Hiro's front tooth had been wobbly for three days before it finally fell out.
Hiro 的門牙搖了三天，最後終於掉了下來。
wobbly tooth — common collocation for loose body parts
After climbing six floors of stairs, Heather's legs felt wobbly and weak.
爬完六層樓的樓梯後，Heather 的雙腿又軟又無力。
The little wooden bridge over the stream was wobbly and made the children laugh.
小溪上那座小木橋走起來晃晃的，逗得小朋友哈哈大笑。
Don't put the vase on that table — one of the legs is wobbly.
別把花瓶放在那張桌子上，有一支桌腳是鬆的。
- 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
動搖的
立場或決定隨時可能改變
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.
團隊裡有兩個人對於要不要簽新合約還很猶豫。
be wobbly about + noun/gerund
Public support for the new tax was wobbly from the first day of the campaign.
從競選的第一天起，新稅制的民意支持就一直很不穩。
abstract noun + be wobbly — opinion or support that may collapse
Elena had been wobbly all week about whether to accept the job in Berlin.
整個禮拜，Elena 都在為要不要接下柏林那份工作搖擺不定。
The deal looked wobbly after the lawyer raised three new questions on Friday.
律師在週五又提出三個新問題後，這筆交易看起來變得很不確定。
- 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 — 名詞
1. a sudden burst of loud anger or upset behaviour, usually short and a bit childis
大發脾氣
短暫激動失控的情緒爆發
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.
服務生第二次又搞錯點餐後，Bilal 當場大發脾氣。
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.
Megan 不准弟弟買糖果，他就在超市裡當場大鬧一場。
throw a wobbly about a small upset
The coach threw a complete wobbly after the team lost the final by one point.
球隊以一分之差輸掉決賽，教練氣得整個大爆發。
Don't tell Christopher about the broken window or he'll throw a wobbly.
別告訴 Christopher 窗戶破掉的事，不然他一定會大發脾氣。
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.