Word to describe a faint, feeble, and irregular sound?

I'm looking for a word (adjective) to describe a sound that is very weak and coming in and out. It may also be used to describe a dying heartbeat that is inconstant and indicative of imminent death. I initially thought the word was "feathery," but Google tells me that's totally off base; I mention it, nonetheless, on the off chance that the two words are similar and it may better facilitate your recall of the right word. Also, I'm fairly certain the word ends in -y.

The word should fit the following sentence -

The soldier's breath was _____ as he lay bleeding, dying.

Solution 1:

I would say faint:

Low in volume or barely audible

• She heard a faint noise in the deckhead, like a distant flag flapping in the breeze. (WordHippo)

Since you specified that it must end in -y, I also thought weary might be appropriate in this context:

Feeling or showing extreme tiredness, especially as a result of excessive exertion (WordHippo)

As you can see from this Gngram, both faint breath and weary breath are used, but "faint prevails".

I found faint used in a text on this site:

All the colour had gone from his cheeks and his breath was faint.

As for weary I found that "to draw a weary breath" is more common than "his breath was weary". So you could say:

The soldier drew a weary breath/weary breaths as he lay bleeding out.