different between doubtful vs shaky

English

Alternative forms

• doubtfull (archaic)

Etymology

From Middle English doutfull, douteful, equivalent to doubt +? -ful.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?da?tf?l/
• Hyphenation: doubt?ful

Adjective

doubtful (comparative more doubtful, superlative most doubtful)

1. Subject to, or causing doubt.
2. Experiencing or showing doubt, sceptical.
3. Undecided or of uncertain outcome.
4. (obsolete) Fearsome, dreadful.
5. Improbable or unlikely.
6. Suspicious, or of dubious character.
7. Unclear or unreliable.

Derived terms

• doubtfully
• doubtfulness

Translations

Noun

doubtful (plural doubtfuls)

1. A doubtful person or thing.
   • 1976, Kenneth Gibbons, Donald Cameron Rowat, Political Corruption in Canada: Cases, Causes and Cures (page 45)

     They had their lists of Liberals and of the doubtfuls who still remained doubtful. As the election drew near, the force of the whole organization was turned upon these unrepentant doubtfuls.

English

Etymology

shake +? -y

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??e?ki/
• Rhymes: -e?ki

Adjective

shaky (comparative shakier, superlative shakiest)

1. Shaking or trembling.

   a shaky spot in a marsh

   a shaky hand

2. Nervous, anxious.

   He’s a nice guy but when he talks to me, he acts shaky.

   • 2006, Paul A. Grayson, ?Philip W. Meilman, College Mental Health Practice (page 11)

     For the college clinician, restless nights after letting a shaky student walk out of the office are an occupational hazard. Are the student's safety assurances credible? Will he or she make it safely through the weekend?
3. (of wood) Full of shakes or cracks; cracked.

   shaky timber

   For quotations using this term, see Citations:shaky.

4. Easily shaken; tottering; unsound.

   a shaky constitution

   shaky business credit

5. Wavering; undecided.

Synonyms

• (not held or fixed securely and likely to fall over): precarious, rickety, unsteady, tottering, unsafe, unstable, wobbly

Derived terms

• shakiness
• shakycam

Translations

Anagrams

• hayks