different between shaky vs alarming

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

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?.?l??m.??/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?.?l??m.??/

Verb

alarming

1. present participle of alarm

Adjective

alarming (comparative more alarming, superlative most alarming)

1. causing apprehension, fear or alarm; frightening

Translations

Anagrams

• marginal