jiggly

Jiggly is an English adjective used to describe something that moves with small, quick, irregular motions or has a soft, gelatin-like texture. The term is formed from the verb jiggle with the common -y suffix, and it tends to be informal or playful in tone.

In motion, jiggly describes objects that wobble or shake, such as a jiggly table, a jiggly glass of jelly, or a device that vibrates subtly. In texture terms, it refers to substances that are soft and capable of wobbling when moved, especially gelatin desserts and other jelly-like foods. The word can also be used descriptively about living beings or animate figures in a lighthearted way, though it remains informal and nontechnical.

Culturally, jiggly appears in casual speech and online discourse to convey a sense of lighthearted wobbliness or elasticity. It is sometimes used in discussions of animation or media to describe exaggerated motion or “jiggle” effects, including references to jiggle physics in video games and animation, where characters or objects visibly wobble during movement.

Etymology traces jiggly to the verb jiggle, with the -y suffix forming a descriptive adjective. The term has been in informal use since the 20th century and remains common in everyday language for both motion and texture descriptions.