jittery

adjective

jit·​tery ˈji-tə-rē How to pronounce jittery (audio)
1
: suffering from the jitters
2
: marked by jittering movements
jitteriness noun

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 on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
These are jittery times, and scripted television has responded with an unusually jittery set of offerings. Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 9 Aug. 2025 Investors remain jittery as the conflict between Israel and Iran has yet to cool. Brian Evans, CNBC, 19 June 2025 And the real-world interest in conspiracy theories provides a feedback loop for Hollywood to make more of these stories see under: Ryan Coogler developing a new X-Files for these jittery 2020s times — which powers and makes these real-world theories even more fun. Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 19 July 2025 Darvish has handled the October pressure well since his former Rangers colleague, Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller, advantaged by a rising payroll at a time when Cubs ownership was made jittery by the pandemic, got him ahead of the 2021 season via a lopsided trade. Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for jittery

Word History

First Known Use

1931, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of jittery was in 1931

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Jittery.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jittery. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on jittery

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!