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Glite Dictionary
humpy walk

humpy walk

9.6
An awkward way of moving with uneven, jerky steps
  • noun
translation icon : andar torpe
  • After his injury, he developed a noticeable humpy walk due to the changes in his balance.

Examples

  • His humpy walk made him stand out in the crowd.

  • He has a peculiar humpy walk.

  • After his injury, he developed a noticeable humpy walk.

  • People whispered about the reason for her humpy walk.

  • Don't you find her humpy walk amusing?

  • Her humpy walk was a result of the uneven pavement in the park.

  • He felt self-conscious about his humpy walk after the accident.

Synonyms

limp
vshumpy walk
51 3.3

An uneven way of walking caused by a hurt leg or foot

is an awkward jerky uneven walk without implying injury

Antonyms

graceful
87 2.8

Movement that is smooth and attractive like a dancer or swan

steady-going
  • UK
4.9

A person who stays calm and acts in a reliable way

How Impaired

crawl
23 1.2
hobble
1 5.9
limp
51 3.3
humpy walk
9.6

Surface Forms

humpy walk singular
humpy walks plural

Morphology

humpy + walk

If a learner knows 'humpy' as 'marked by bumps' and 'walk' as a manner of gait, the meaning 'an uneven or jerky manner of walking' follows directly from composing the adjective and noun. The adjective+noun composition is a standard, productive pattern and the inferred sense is cross-linguistically plausible, so the expression is readily understandable from its parts.

Etymology

Humpy walk may come from the simple image of walking over small humps or bumps so your walk becomes uneven and jerky. That's why humpy walk means 'an awkward or uneven way of walking'.