floppy-wristed

9.8

A weak, loose movement of the wrist that looks unsure

adjective

: débil

Her floppy-wristed handshake made a poor impression.

Examples

The coach criticized his player's floppy-wristed attempt at shooting the basketball.
She gave a floppy-wristed wave that barely attracted anyone's attention.
Some critics called the dancer's performance too floppy-wristed for such an energetic song.
He gave a floppy-wristed wave to his friends.
She gave a floppy-wristed wave that barely attracted anyone's attention.
The coach criticized his player's floppy-wristed attempt at shooting the basketball.
Her floppy-wristed handshake made a poor impression during the interview.

Synonyms

timorous

vsfloppy-wristed

Formal

1 8.6

Feeling nervous and lacking confidence in new situations

is expressed as a weak physical gesture rather than an inner feeling

wavery

vsfloppy-wristed

7.3

Not firm in what someone says and does

is shown as a limp physical gesture rather than mere hesitation

Antonyms

confident

715 2.5

Feeling sure about yourself or what will happen

assertive

42 4.2

Showing confidence when saying what you want or think

How Confident

confident

715 2.5

steady

186 1.3

floppy-wristed

9.8

uneasy

98 3.2

timid

60 3.5

Surface Forms

floppy-wristed positive

Morphology

floppy-wristed = floppy + wrist (transparent) = floppy + wrist + ed

Formed from 'floppy' + 'wrist' with the adjective-forming '-ed', meaning 'having floppy wrists', which is directly derivable from the parts.

Etymology

Floppy-wristed is made of floppy, from 'flop' meaning 'to hang or fall loosely', and wrist, the joint of the hand, so it gives a clear image of a hand that hangs limply. That's why a floppy-wristed gesture looks weak or shows a lack of confidence.