jumpy

Everyday

1. (informal) Nervous and easily frightened or startled. tree →
2. Moving in sudden jerks; not smooth (a jumpy video). tree →
3. (money) Going up and down quickly and unpredictably, like prices. tree →

In the lessons

In stories it shows a character is scared or on edge: «Everyone was jumpy after the strange noise». About pets: a jumpy horse or cat. About screens: a jumpy picture. In maths graphs, a «jumpy» line rises and falls a lot rather than steadily. Phrases: «feel jumpy», «a bit jumpy».

Examples

• After the ghost story, everyone was a bit jumpy. tree →
• The cat is jumpy during fireworks. tree →
• I always feel jumpy before a big test. tree →
• The video was jumpy because the internet was slow. tree →
• The horse was jumpy, so we spoke to it softly. tree →
• The graph of the temperature looked jumpy because it changed every hour. tree →
• Dad gets jumpy when the car makes a strange noise. tree →

Note

Comparative: jumpier, jumpiest (y → i). Informal word; in formal writing use «nervous» or «anxious». Not the same as «jumping» (actually doing jumps). A jumpy person is not necessarily jumping at all.