Rockily
adv ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 In an uneven way; in a rocking manner.
"https://web.archive.org/web/20060508091041/http://www.michaelmcfadyenscuba.info/articles/earprob.htm We arrive there five minutes later and I sit up very rockily. I have to get off this boat, I am getting sick."
- 2 In a manner suggestive of a rock or rocks.
"Ten minutes before serving whisk up the whites of eggs with a little sugar and pile rockily on top."
- 3 Unsteadily; inconsistently or resulting in volatility.
"https://web.archive.org/web/20051221172204/http://www.trumanlibrary.org/hoover/mccoy1.htm They would gain much in common only slowly, and I should add rockily, for the early stages of their acquaintance was based substantially on mutual self-interest."
- 4 In a manner suggestive of rock music.
"https://web.archive.org/web/20060504130636/http://www.albemarle-london.com/notredame.html The music of Richard Cocciante, the book and lyrics of Luc Plamondon, with the lyrics translated by Will Jennings, are consistently and rockily entertaining"
Example
More examples"https://web.archive.org/web/20060508091041/http://www.michaelmcfadyenscuba.info/articles/earprob.htm We arrive there five minutes later and I sit up very rockily. I have to get off this boat, I am getting sick."
Etymology
From rocky + -ly.
Related phrases
More for "rockily"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.