rickety

/'rikiti/
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rickety

The old man carefully climbs the rickety wooden staircase.

Definition
  1. Adjective:
    • Physically weak or unsound: Describes a person or animal that appears frail, feeble, or lacking in strength, often due to illness or malnutrition.
    • Affected by or characteristic of rickets: Specifically refers to the physical deformities or weakness caused by the disease rickets, which results from vitamin D deficiency.
    • Unstable and likely to collapse: Describes a structure, piece of furniture, or object that is poorly made, shaky, and in danger of falling apart.
Examples of Usage

  • Describing a person or animal:

    • The rickety old man walked slowly with a cane.
    • The illness left the child looking pale and rickety.

  • Describing a structure or object:

    • Be careful on that rickety staircase; the steps are loose.
    • We stored the boxes in the rickety shed at the back of the garden.
Advanced Usage

  • "rickety with age": so old that it has become unstable.

    • The farmhouse, rickety with age, creaked in the wind.

  • "a rickety alliance/agreement" (figurative): an unstable or precarious political or social arrangement.

    • The peace treaty was a rickety agreement that satisfied no one fully.
Variants and Related Words
  • Rickets (n): The disease, caused by vitamin D deficiency, that leads to soft and deformed bones, especially in children.
    • Proper nutrition can prevent rickets.
Synonyms
  • Unstable: Not firm or steady.
  • Shaky: Trembling or wavering.
  • Wobbly: Tending to move unsteadily from side to side.
  • Decrepit: Worn out or broken down by age or use.
  • Frail: Weak and delicate.
Related Phrases
  • Rickety old (common collocation): Used to emphasize that something is both old and unstable.
    • He drove a rickety old truck that smoked terribly.
rickety

The old man carefully climbs the rickety wooden staircase.

Adjective
  1. lacking bodily or muscular strength or vitality
    • a feeble old woman
    • her body looked sapless
  2. affected with, suffering from, or characteristic of rickets
    • rickety limbs and joints
    • a rachitic patient
  3. inclined to shake as from weakness or defect
    • a rickety table
    • a wobbly chair with shaky legs
    • the ladder felt a little wobbly
    • the bridge still stands though one of the arches is wonky

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