1
as in worried
feeling or showing uncomfortable feelings of uncertainty
he was nervous about how he would do at the varsity basketball tryouts
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in uneasy
marked by or causing agitation or uncomfortable feelings
a nervous silence filled the room as the teacher handed out the graded exams
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in excitable
easily excited by nature
a nervous sort of person, she's completely thrown by anything unexpected
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of nervous
That reliance on just a handful of tech names has more investors nervous a correction could be near, if the big AI names fail to sustain their leadership or run out of momentum.
—
Sarah Min, CNBC, 4 Nov. 2025
When Poppy was adopted, the greyhound was nervous and spent her evenings crying.
—Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2025
There was a lot of nervous smiling.
—Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2025
Farrell plays John, the ambitious and chatty servant who is seduced by the mistress of the house (Jessica Chastain), as a nervous bundle of energy who becomes more agonized and frantic over the course of the film.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nervous
Sarah Min, CNBC, 4 Nov. 2025
When Poppy was adopted, the greyhound was nervous and spent her evenings crying.
—Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2025
There was a lot of nervous smiling.
—Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2025
Farrell plays John, the ambitious and chatty servant who is seduced by the mistress of the house (Jessica Chastain), as a nervous bundle of energy who becomes more agonized and frantic over the course of the film.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nervous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nervous
Adjective
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Residents of Cranbourne Hall Residential Park, the nearest neighborhood, are worried that the new home will be less private than the four-bedroom Adelaide Cottage.—
Christina Dugan Ramirez,
FOXNews.com,
2 Nov. 2025
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Haseebullah also is worried about the Cybertrucks’ surveillance abilities that the public may not be unaware of, and that the fleet might give Tesla access to police data.—
Sasha Rogelberg,
Fortune,
2 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Rather than offering peace of mind from pest invasion, the chemical control process often leaves families feeling uneasy about what has been introduced so indiscriminately into their environment.—
Malana VanTyler,
USA Today,
6 Nov. 2025
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Cuomo led early polls, buoyed by name recognition and a coalition of moderate Democrats uneasy with the party’s leftward drift.—
Nik Popli,
Time,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Don Phillips, the casting director, was an excitable character who put his whole heart into finding new faces.—
Cameron Crowe,
HollywoodReporter,
24 Oct. 2025
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The text is excitable and wayward, while many of the photographs are dramatically dull.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Redirect their attention If your dog is anxious and barking in a panic, your first step is to remove them from the trigger.—
Madeline Gunderson,
USA Today,
2 Nov. 2025
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Late nights and anxious supplications.—
Steve Rushin,
The Atlantic,
2 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The seven states dependent on the river’s dwindling flows have been locked in tense negotiations over this for years.—
Shaun McKinnon,
AZCentral.com,
4 Nov. 2025
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The incident came after a tense year for Harvard students, teachers and staff who were thrust into the national spotlight amid the White House’s push to reshape higher education.—
Michelle Watson,
CNN Money,
4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Mamdani's win was seen as an upset to the establishment, since the 67-year-old Cuomo is the son of a three-time New York governor and held the position himself for a decade beginning in 2011.—
Rachel Treisman,
NPR,
5 Nov. 2025
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Boise State fans could have been upset when they were upset at home by Fresno State as their season continued to slide away from them.—
Kyle Feldscher,
CNN Money,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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With 31 percent of adults and 80 percent of adolescents not meeting recommended levels of physical activity, researchers have unveiled a disturbing glimpse of what the long-term impacts on our health and appearance could look like.—
Hannah Millington,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
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The film follows his lead, constructing a near-relentless study of misery that culminates in a disturbing finale.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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With mass layoffs, many employees are apprehensive about being replaced.—
Hugh Cameron,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Oct. 2025
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The two have been apprehensive advocates for each other over the past two seasons, and this season Stella vowed to go to bat for Mia’s bid for news director.—
Hunter Ingram,
Variety,
22 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nervous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nervous. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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