Meaning & use
wavery
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Meanings
adjectivenot comparable
shaking slightly and not staying steady, especially of a voice or a line.
Grammar: Describes a quality; usually before a noun or after a linking verb like be, sound, or look.
Patterns
- a wavery voice
- sound wavery
- a wavery line
Her voice was wavery as she said goodbye.
The old man drew a wavery line across the page.
The singer's tone became wavery near the end of the song.
adjectivenot comparable
not clear or firm; likely to change.
Grammar: Used mainly before nouns to describe something uncertain or unsteady.
Patterns
- a wavery decision
- wavery support
His wavery commitment to the project worried the team.
The plan was wavery from the start and soon fell apart.
Common combinations
- wavery voice
- She spoke in a wavery voice, close to tears.
- wavery line
- He drew a wavery line with a ruler that kept slipping.
- sound wavery
- The recording sounded wavery and distant.
Synonyms and how they differ
- shaky
- Shaky is much more common and can describe physical unsteadiness or a lack of confidence.
- unsteady
- Unsteady often suggests a risk of falling or failing, while wavery suggests a gentle, changing movement.
- tremulous
- Tremulous is more literary and often describes a voice shaking with emotion.
Opposites
Word family
- waver verb
- to become unsteady or to hesitate.
- waveringly adverb
- in a wavering way.
Commonly confused: wavery or wavy?
wavery vs wavy
Wavy means having a series of curves, like wavy hair, not shaking or unsteady.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'wavery' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Wavery means shaking or unsteady, so it fits handwriting that keeps shaking. Option An is wrong because a wavery table would not easily hold heavy books; option C is wrong because a wavery road would not be straight; option D is wrong because a wavery answer would not be very clear.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “wavery”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.