unsteady
Liable to topple
Unsteady describes something that wavers, wobbles, or lacks stability.
An unsteady hand trembles; an unsteady ladder rocks dangerously.
The word applies to physical balance—She rose on unsteady legs—and to anything inconsistent or unreliable: unsteady progress, unsteady income, an unsteady relationship.
To unsteady something is to destabilize it: The news unsteadied him.
Tending to teeter
- shakyTrembling or unstable
- totteringMoving unsteadily, nearly falling
- teeteringUnstably balanced, nearly falling
- swayingRhythmic lateral movement
lurching · staggering · faltering · stumbling · rickety · unstable · precarious · off-balance
Walking with impairment
- limpingUneven gait from injury
- shufflingRandomizing order of items
- stumblingWalking clumsily, almost falling
- staggeringShockingly impressive or unsteady
tottering · weaving · shambling · faltering · lurching · uncoordinated · clumsy · tripping
Weak and ineffective
- frailWeak and breakable
- shakyTrembling or unstable
- tremblingInvoluntary shaking motion
- infirmWeak in body
fragile · debilitated · faltering · quavering · tottery · doddering · decrepit · enfeebled
Troubled by uncertainty
- nervousUneasy and apprehensive
- insecureLacking self-assurance
- uncertainNot firmly known
- shakyTrembling or unstable
jittery · unsettled · uneasy · apprehensive · wavering · hesitant · doubtful · vulnerable
Prone to fluctuation
- erraticLacking regularity or consistency
- inconsistentLacking steady uniformity
- irregularDeviating from normal patterns
- unpredictableCannot be anticipated
volatile · unstable · oscillating · varying · shifting · changeable · fitful · sporadic
wobbly
Tending to teeter
- shakyTrembling or unstable
- totteringMoving unsteadily, nearly falling
- teeteringUnstably balanced, nearly falling
swaying · lurching · staggering · faltering · stumbling · rickety · unstable · precarious · off-balance · rocking
hobbling
Walking with impairment
- limpingUneven gait from injury
- shufflingRandomizing order of items
- stumblingWalking clumsily, almost falling
staggering · tottering · weaving · shambling · faltering · lurching · uncoordinated · clumsy · tripping · halting
feeble
Weak and ineffective
infirm · fragile · debilitated · faltering · quavering · tottery · doddering · decrepit · enfeebled · weakened
anxious
Troubled by uncertainty
shaky · jittery · unsettled · uneasy · apprehensive · wavering · hesitant · doubtful · vulnerable · fragile
variable
Prone to fluctuation
- erraticLacking regularity or consistency
- inconsistentLacking steady uniformity
- irregularDeviating from normal patterns
unpredictable · volatile · unstable · oscillating · varying · shifting · changeable · fitful · sporadic · intermittent
lightheaded
Faint and unsteady feeling
- woozyDizzy and confused
- vertiginousInducing a spinning sensation
- faintWeak and indistinct
giddy · disoriented · spinning · reeling · queasy · nauseous · foggy · bleary · swooning · dazed
- clumsyclumsy, awkward, bumbling, bungling, fumbling
- stabilitystable, firmness, unstable, equilibrium, balanced
- weakweak, feeble, frail, fragile, faint
- shaky thingsshaky, quivering, tremulous, shivering, quaking
- unevenuneven, irregular, unequal, nonuniform, asymmetric
- drunk slangdrunk, wasted, hammered, smashed, plastered
unsteadysteady
Fixed, not fluctuating
constant · regular · consistent · unvarying · unchanging
- unsteady gaitIrregular, wavering locomotion
unsteadiness, unsteadily, unsteadied, unsteadying, unsteadier, unsteadiest