shakily
In quivering fashion
Shakily describes doing something in an unsteady or trembling manner.
Hands write shakily when nervous or weak.
A voice speaks shakily when emotional or uncertain: She shakily read the letter aloud.
Someone recovering from illness might stand shakily.
The word suggests physical tremor or lack of confidence—sometimes both at once.
Unsteady side-to-side motion
- totterMove unsteadily, nearly falling
- teeterSway without stability
- staggerWalk unsteadily, sway
- lurchAbrupt unsteady movement
sway · stumble · falter · rock · precarious · unbalanced · tipsy · unstable
Lacking power or force
- feebleWeak and ineffective
- feeblyWithout vigor or power
- infirmWeak in body
- debilitatedMade weak or infirm
enfeebled · decrepit · doddering · faltering · trembling · unsteadily · weakly · frailly
wobble
Unsteady side-to-side motion
lurch · sway · stumble · falter · rock · precarious · unbalanced · tipsy · unstable · off-balance
weak
Lacking power or force
debilitated · enfeebled · decrepit · doddering · faltering · trembling · unsteadily · weakly · frailly · delicately
quiver
Trembling or arrow case
vibrate · judder · flutter · wobble · jiggle · quake · palpitate · convulse · twitch · flicker
anxious
Troubled by uncertainty
- apprehensiveFearful of future events
- fearfulFull of fright
- jitteryAnxiously restless
tense · uneasy · hesitant · tremulous · timid · uncertain · faltering · quavering · stammering · stuttering
shakilyconfidently
With self-assurance
assuredly · firmly · decisively · resolutely · boldly
- shaking handsMutual grip greeting
- shaking offRemoving by jerking motion
- shaking upReorganizing dramatically
- shaking one's headNonverbal sign of disapproval
- shaking headLateral motion indicating no
- shaking in one's bootsExtremely frightened