Meaning & use
jerkily
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Meanings
adverbnot comparable
With sudden, uneven movements that start and stop abruptly instead of flowing smoothly.
Grammar: Describes how something moves, normally after the verb: the car moved jerkily.
Patterns
- move jerkily
- walk jerkily
The old elevator rose jerkily to the fourth floor.
The puppet danced jerkily across the stage.
The film played jerkily because the connection was slow.
adverbnot comparablefigurative
In an irregular, halting way when speaking, writing or performing.
Grammar: Describes manner, often for speech: she spoke jerkily.
Patterns
- speak jerkily
He read the speech jerkily, pausing at odd places.
The story unfolds jerkily, with abrupt jumps in time.
Word forms
| comparative | more jerkily |
|---|---|
| superlative | most jerkily |
Common combinations
- move jerkily
- The robot moved jerkily across the floor.
- walk jerkily
- The toddler walked jerkily toward her father.
- speak jerkily
- Nervous, he spoke jerkily and kept losing his place.
- jerkily animated
- The cartoon was jerkily animated but charming.
- stop jerkily
- The bus stopped jerkily at the traffic light.
Synonyms and how they differ
- haltingly
- Haltingly stresses hesitation and frequent pauses, especially in speech, whereas jerkily stresses sudden physical movement.
- erratically
- Erratically suggests unpredictable direction or behavior, while jerkily points to sudden starts and stops.
- spasmodically
- Spasmodically suggests sudden bursts at irregular intervals and is more formal than jerkily.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: jerkily or jerky?
jerkily vs jerky
Jerky is the adjective, as in a jerky motion, while jerkily is the adverb describing how an action happens. Jerky is also dried strips of meat.
Practice
The old film projector made the picture flicker, and the actors seemed to move ____.
Choose one answer.
Jerkily describes sudden, uneven motion like a flickering old film. The other adverbs all suggest even, flowing movement.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “jerkily”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.