choppily
- adverb
- /ˈtʃɑːpɪli/
- I think I explained my points more or less at a good enough level considering I've only been learning the language for about 6 weeks, although I am indeed speaking very choppily and could have used much better words.
Examples
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He spoke choppily, struggling to find the right words during his presentation.
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He came across as practically somnolent, choppily reciting boring answers interspersed with pauses and 'ums.'
Blog text (33) -
They had been squishing through wet leaves, slipping and sliding over refuse-twisted mounds, nearly hand in hand and a little out of breath, really almost like children, when she said, abruptly, choppily, "Please, can you tell me, Dr. Gorelick, what will be the time when we return?"
Fiction book (1997) -
The video played choppily, making it difficult to understand the dialogue.
-
She answered the questions choppily, pausing frequently between her responses.
Synonyms
With sudden, uneven movements that are not smooth
In a way that is not smooth when speaking, with pauses and emotion
Move or speak in an awkward, unsteady way as if about to fall
In sudden, quick movements that make things start and stop
With sudden, unsteady movements that make you lose balance
In a stopping and starting way with short repeated pauses
In a not smooth way that makes movement uneven
In a stiff, jerky way with sudden, clumsy movements
Showing quick, unsteady changes, like a light going on and off
In a nervous way with small quick movements
Antonyms
How Smooth
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Choppily comes from the simple verb chop, which means 'to cut', and from the adjective choppy, meaning 'full of short, rough movements or breaks'. So, to do something choppily is to do it in short, uneven, broken parts—like vegetables cut into different sizes or a boat moving over rough water.