Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🤖 Jerky movement 🙃 Awkward person
herky

herky

2 9.9
Moving in sudden, awkward jerks
  • adjective
  • Informal
: brusco
  • Why oh why is the motion of the star so herky jerky?
  • herky-jerky
  • herky-jerky motion
  • herky-jerky kind

My game is, is really herky jerky and it's and it's and it's built off of moving my defender and then counter it quick.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • I was especially worried because he never really relied on explosive athleticism, but more of a herky-jerky Manu-style attack.

    Blog text (6)

  • Dawson dances a herky-jerky tarantella of sorts in celebration while Jeff Kent drags his body, using only his arms, up the shore.

    Blog text (13)

  • Obama is too herky-jerky during debates.

    Blog text (1)

  • Just... you're being too herky-jerky with it.

    Ben Is Back (2018)

  • The view is herky-jerky as the crate is put into position.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • The weird kid made some kind of herky-jerky motion with his head, which, strangely, we all understood to mean yes.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • Kate settled into a herky-jerky rhythm of running and stumbling forward.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • The robot moved in such a herky-jerky way that it nearly fell over.

  • After the accident, he walked with a herky-jerky limp that made it hard for him to keep his balance.

  • The dancer's herky-jerky movements made the performance both awkward and entertaining.

Synonyms

jerkily
vsherky
1 5.2

With sudden, uneven movements that are not smooth

is awkward overall rather than only about sudden unevenness
jumpily
vsherky
1 7.2

In a nervous, easily startled way with sudden jerks

is sudden and awkward without implying nervousness
jerkingly
vsherky
1 7.9

In sudden, quick movements that make things start and stop

is awkward or jerky in general rather than especially sharp
lurchingly
vsherky
1 8.9

With sudden, unsteady movements that make you lose balance

is sudden and awkward rather than mainly unsteady
twitchily
vsherky
1 7.0

In a nervous way with small quick movements

is larger sudden awkward motion rather than tiny nervous twitches
angularly
vsherky
1 7.0

In a stiff, jerky way with sudden, clumsy movements

is sudden and jerky rather than mainly stiff or rigid
squirmingly
vsherky
1 7.4

In a way that shows discomfort or nervousness by moving restlessly

is about sudden awkward movement rather than expressing discomfort

Antonyms

smoothly
132 2.3

In an easy, calm way without problems or embarrassment

gracefully
49 2.8

In a smooth and beautiful way that looks controlled

How Jerky

convulsive
2 8.0
herky
  • Informal
2 9.9
uneven
48 2.3
smooth
238 1.0

Surface Forms

herky positive

Etymology

Herky comes from the phrase herky-jerky, where jerk means 'a sudden movement'. So herky describes something that moves in a sudden, awkward way.