different between unsteady vs shaky

English

Etymology

From un- +? steady. Like steady, the word first appeared in English around 1530. The word is comparable to Old Frisian onstedich, Low German unstadig, etc.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?st?di/
• Rhymes: -?di
• Hyphenation: un?steady

Adjective

unsteady (comparative unsteadier, superlative unsteadiest)

1. Not held firmly in position, physically unstable.

   • "Mid-Lent, and the Enemy grins," remarked Selwyn as he started for church with Nina and the children. Austin, knee-deep in a dozen Sunday supplements, refused to stir; poor little Eileen was now convalescent from grippe, but still unsteady on her legs; her maid had taken the grippe, and now moaned all day: […]"

2. Lacking regularity or uniformity.
3. Inconstant in purpose, or volatile in behavior.

Synonyms

• (not held or fixed securely and likely to fall over): precarious, rickety, shaky; see also Thesaurus:rickety
• (lacking regularity or uniformity): chaotic, irregular, unstable; see also Thesaurus:unsteady

Antonyms

• steady

Derived terms

• unsteadily

Translations

Verb

unsteady (third-person singular simple present unsteadies, present participle unsteadying, simple past and past participle unsteadied)

1. To render unsteady, removing balance.

Anagrams

• Dauntsey, unstayed

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