wobble
[verb]
Synonyms:
- shake, rock, sway, teeter, totter, tremble
[noun]
Synonyms:
- unsteadiness, shake, tremble, tremor

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English Thesaurus: move, sway, rock, wobble, fidget, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

wob‧ble /ˈwɒbəl $ ˈwɑː-/ verb
[Date: 1600-1700; Origin: Probably from Low German wabbeln]

1. [intransitive and transitive] to move unsteadily from side to side, or make something do this:
The pile of bricks wobbled and fell.
Tom stopped, wobbling from the weight of his load.

2. [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] to go in a particular direction while moving unsteadily from side to side
wobble down/along/towards etc
Cindy wobbled along the street on her bike.

3. [intransitive] to be unsure whether to do something Synonym : waver:
The President appeared to wobble over sending the troops in.
—wobble noun [countable]

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

move to go to a different place, or change the position of your body:
Sarah moved away from the window.
Every time I move I get a pain in my left shoulder.
sway to move slowly from one side to the other:
The branches swayed in the wind.
Donny swayed drunkenly as he walked back to his car.
rock to move repeatedly from one side to another, with small gentle movements:
He rocked backward and forward in his chair.
The boat rocked from side to side with the waves.
wobble to move unsteadily from side to side:
The bike wobbled a bit, but she soon got it under control.
fidget to keep moving or playing with your fingers, hands, feet etc, because you are bored or nervous:
Diana fidgeted nervously with her pencil.
squirm to make very small movements from side to side with your body, especially because you feel uncomfortable:
By the end of the hour, most of the children were squirming in their seats.
wriggle to make small movements from side to side, especially in order to get into or out of something:
The dog wriggled under the fence and escaped into the street.
She managed to wriggle into the dress, but it was much too tight.
twitch if part of your body twitches, it makes small movements that you cannot control:
A muscle on Yang’s face twitched.
stir written to make a movement – used especially when describing a situation in which no one moves, or someone wakes up:
In the village a dog barked but no one stirred
The sleeping child stirred and opened her eyes.
budge to move – used when you are trying hard to make something move, often without success:
The piano wouldn’t budge.
relocate to move to a different place – used about companies, organizations, and people who work for them:
NATO’s main headquarters relocated to Brussels.
Klein is relocating to London to head up the investment banking team.
still not moving – use this especially about people who are not moving, or about places where there is no wind:
There was no wind and the trees were completely still.
Keep still while I tie your shoes.
stationary not moving – use this about cars, trains, or objects:
The truck swerved and hit a stationary vehicle.
immobile not moving or not able to move, especially because of fear or tiredness:
As the disease progressed, she became increasingly immobile.
motionless completely still – used especially in literature:
Kemp sat motionless as the verdict was read.
calm not moving because there is no wind – use this about air and water:
The lake was calm.
be at a standstill if traffic is at a standstill it is not moving:
Traffic was at a standstill on the motorway.
make a move
We made the move mainly for financial reasons.
make no move
The government made no move to hold the promised elections.
welcome the move
Environmentalists welcomed the move to limit the length of fishing nets.
oppose a move
Union members have opposed the move.
support a move
The move was supported by the government.
a move is aimed at doing something/is designed to do something
The move is aimed at strengthening its business in the region.
an important move
I cannot decide on such an important move on my own.
a bold/daring move (=taking a lot of courage)
The writers made a bold move by kiling off the main character.
a good/smart/wise move (=sensible)
I’m not sure it was a good move giving him the job.
the right move
He hoped he had made the right move in telling his father.
an unprecedented move (=never having happened before)
Barcelona began the unprecedented move of shipping in drinking water.
sb’s next move (=the next thing someone does)
What should happen next? What’s our next move?
a bad move
It was a bad move letting him come here in the first place.
a false/wrong move (=made by mistake)
One wrong move and the business might never recover.
the first move
She waited for Michael to make the first move.
a career move (=a decision that will improve the type of job you can do)
It looked like a good career move, with the possibility of promotion later.
there are moves afoot to do something British English (=there are plans, especially secret ones, to do something)
There are moves afoot to change things.
a move in the right direction
The decision seemed to be a move in the right direction.
watch/follow sb’s every move
His eyes followed Cissy’s every move.
a sudden move
She made a sudden move towards me from the doorway.
action noun [countable] something that someone does:
He is responsible for his own actions.
They refused to give a reason for their actions.
act noun [countable] a particular type of action:
violent acts
⇒ act of violence/kindness/defiance etc:
I believe the killing was an act of desperation.
activities noun [plural] things that people do, especially for enjoyment or to achieve an aim:
leisure activities
political activities
Surveys may not give a true picture of people’s activities.
behaviour British English, behavior American English noun [uncountable] the things that someone does and the way they behave:
Do you think that advertisements really influence people’s behaviour?
The man’s behaviour seemed rather odd.
step noun [countable] one of a series of things that you do in order to deal with a problem or to succeed:
The first step is to make sure we have got funding for the project.
We must take steps to make sure that this does not happen again.
This is an important step towards peace.
measure noun [countable] an official action that is intended to deal with a particular problem:
There are increased security measures at airports.
The school was closed as a precautionary measure following a chemical leak.
gesture noun [countable] something that you do to show how you feel about someone or something:
Do you think it would be a nice gesture to send her some flowers?
⇒ gesture of goodwill/solidarity/defiance:
The company gave us £100 as a gesture of goodwill.
deed noun [countable] especially literary an action, especially one that is very good or very bad:
evil deeds
heroic deeds
This is my good deed for the day.
exploits noun [plural] formal exciting or brave actions:
daring exploits
His exploits were legendary.
feat noun [countable] something someone does that people admire because you need a lot of skill, courage, or strength to do it:
Completing a marathon is a remarkable feat for a six-year-old.
The bridge is a great feat of engineering.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

shake if a person or part of their body shakes, they make small sudden continuous movements from side to side or up and down, especially because they are very frightened, cold, ill etc:
Suddenly he started to shake. ‘Don’t ever scare me like that again!’ he whispered.
The poor girl was shaking.
shudder to shake for a short time, especially because you think of something very unpleasant, or because you feel frightened or cold:
Corbett shuddered when he thought of what might have happened to them.
I shuddered when I read the article.
He was still shuddering with the cold.
She clung to him, shuddering with emotion.
tremble to shake slightly in a way that you cannot control, especially because you are frightened, worried, or angry:
Ernest opened the letter in silence, his hands trembling.
Her whole body trembled with fear.
He hadn’t dared to move. He was trembling with shock.
‘I won’t be coming back,’ she said, her body trembling with anger.
shiver to shake slightly, especially only a few times, because you are cold or frightened:
She shivered, pulling her coat closer around herself.
You make me shiver when you talk like that.
quiver especially literary to shake slightly and continuously because you are very worried or excited – used especially about someone’s lips, mouth, or body:
Her bottom lip began to quiver, and she turned away to hide her tears.
Alice’s eyes began to fill with tears and her mouth quivered. ‘I 'm going away,’ she said.
wobble to move unsteadily from side to side:
Mrs Hamilton wobbled precariously on her high heels.
rock to move gently backwards and forwards or from side to side:
He rocked to and fro in his chair.
rattle to shake and make a noise:
The windows rattled in the wind.
The train was rattling over the bridge.
vibrate to shake continuously with small fast movements:
The music was so loud that the whole room vibrated.
The atoms vibrate at different frequencies.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

shake to move suddenly from side to side or up and down, usually with a lot of force:
The floor shook from a distant explosion.
The walls were still shaking.
The trees were shaking in the wind.
rattle to shake and make a noise:
The windows rattled in the wind.
The train was rattling over the bridge.
vibrate to shake continuously with small fast movements:
The music was so loud that the whole room vibrated.
The atoms vibrate at different frequencies.
wobble to move unsteadily from side to side:
The bike began to wobble alarmingly as she fought to control it.
The cup wobbled and he grabbed it to stop it from falling.
rock to move gently backwards and forwards or from side to side:
The trailer rocked in the wind.
The boat was rocking from side to side with the waves.
shudder (also judder especially British English) if a vehicle or machine shudders, it shakes for a short time.:
The lift shuddered then began to descend.
The engine shuddered into life (=it shook and then started working).
The car juddered to a halt (=it shook and then stopped) outside the house.
bang a loud sound caused especially when something hard or heavy hits something else:
I heard a loud bang and rushed out to see what had happened.
He slammed the door shut with a bang.
crash a very loud sound caused when something hits something else, especially when damage is caused:
The tray of dishes fell to the floor with a crash.
I heard an enormous crash outside our house, and I went to see what had happened.
thud a quiet low sound made when a heavy object falls down onto surface:
There was a dull thud as the box hit the floor.
His head hit the ground with a sickening thud.
thump a dull loud sound made when a heavy object hits something else:
There was a loud thump as Eddie threw Luther back against the wall.
clink a short ringing sound made when two glass, metal, or china objects hit each other:
the clink of champagne glasses
The clink of cutlery could be heard in the restaurant.
tinkle the pleasant sound that is made by light pieces of glass or metal hitting each other repeatedly:
He listened to the faint tinkle of cow bells in the distance.
jingle the sound of small metal objects being shaken together:
the jingle of her bracelets
the jingle of keys

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲