jittery

adjective jit·tery \ ˈji-tə-rē \

Definition of jittery

1 :suffering from the jitters

2 :marked by jittering movements

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jitteriness

play \ˈji-tə-rē-nəs\ noun

See jittery defined for English-language learners

Examples of jittery in a Sentence

I always get jittery when I have to give a speech.
The latest economic news has made some investors jittery.

Recent Examples of jittery from the Web

Painted Ruins at first seems to address this conundrum by grabbing attention with insistent, jittery rhythms that seem to promise exciting anthems.

— spencer kornhaber, The Atlantic, "Grizzly Bear Capture the Beauty of Connection," 20 Aug. 2017
Global markets are jittery, but mostly shrugging off the escalating war of words between the U.S. and North Korea.

— geoffrey smith, Fortune, "CEO Daily: Thursday, 10th August," 10 Aug. 2017
In what was expected to be a humdrum speech at a gala for the Atlantic Council—one of those innumerable D.C. policy groups—Pence began mopping up Trump’s mess, allaying the concerns of the jittery power class.

— jason zengerle, GQ, "What If Mike Pence Becomes President?," 8 Aug. 2017
There is widespread agreement that the first order of business is to calm what are now very jittery insurance markets.

— Alaska Dispatch News, "How to fix the health law," 29 July 2017
Here, Clover prove to be one damn versatile band, shifting to a reggae groove with funky-fun keys and jittery guitar riffs.

— william goodman, Billboard, "Elvis Costello's 'My Aim Is True' Turns 40: Ranking All the Tracks," 22 July 2017
Audiences at the end of Romero's film came out all mixed up, nerves jangling, jittery, shaken up in a different way.

— michael phillips, chicagotribune.com, "George A. Romero appreciation: horror, redefined," 17 July 2017
Caffeine can temporarily raise blood pressure and affect heart rate, and can make people feel anxious and jittery.

— amanda macmillan, Health.com, "You Can Now Snort Chocolate, But Doctors Aren't Happy About It," 7 July 2017
There's a good story behind why post-punk icon Tommy Stinson, the jittery, compulsive and combustible engine of the Replacements, is bringing his acoustic tour to Louisville's Surface Noise Records.

— jeffrey lee puckett, The Courier-Journal, "There's a good story behind why Tommy Stinson is playing in Louisville," 6 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'jittery.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.