nervous

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adjective ner·vous \ ˈnər-vəs \

Definition of nervous

1 archaic :sinewy, strong

2 :marked by strength of thought, feeling, or style :spirited

a vibrant tight-packed nervous style of writing

3 :of, relating to, or composed of neurons

4 a :of or relating to the nerves; also :originating in or affected by the nerves

nervous energy

a nervous twitch

b :easily excited or irritated :jumpy

… so nervous that he had to be escorted outside court to vomit …
—Kevin Johnson and Andrea Stone

c :timid, apprehensive

a nervous smile

nervous of strangers

5 a :tending to produce nervousness or agitation :uneasy

a nervous situation

His face was twisted in nervous anticipation.
—Dagoberto Gilb

b :appearing or acting unsteady, erratic, or irregular —used of inanimate things

… climbed carefully into his nervous kayak …
—Farley Mowat

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nervously

adverb

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nervousness

noun

See nervous defined for English-language learners

See nervous defined for kids

Examples of nervous in a Sentence

She is nervous about her job interview.
All this waiting is making me nervous.
He gave a nervous glance at the clock.
His nervous mother is always worrying that something terrible will happen to him.
He has a nervous disposition.
It was a very nervous situation.
She suffers from a nervous disorder.
He walked around with a nervous twitch.
He had a nervous habit of pulling at his hair.
The boy has a lot of nervous energy.

Recent Examples of nervous from the Web

The tumors arise from the brain's glial cells, which are cells that are wrapped around neurons throughout the central nervous system.

— laurie mcginley, chicagotribune.com, "5 questions about the brain cancer diagnosed in Sen. John McCain," 19 July 2017
BSE is a prion disease, which affects the nervous system.

— dennis pillion, AL.com, "What is 'atypical' mad cow? Alabama's bovine spongiform encephalopathy case explained," 19 July 2017
In a Facebook post about the rescue, Straight showed images of the mother raccoon looking wide-eyed and nervous inside the car.

— National Geographic, "Raccoon Gives Birth in the Backseat of a Camaro," 14 July 2017
Cincinnati Bell shareholders were nervous about the size of the transaction, sending company shared downward.

— alexander coolidge, Cincinnati.com, "Cincinnati Bell acquires two peers for $851M," 10 July 2017
Republican strategists looking toward the future were already growing nervous because the changing demography of the U.S. made perfectly clear that minorities would steadily increase as a share of the eligible electorate.

— joshua green, Bloomberg.com, "The Remaking of Donald Trump," 6 July 2017
Powassan attacks the nervous system and can infect the brain, causing encephalitis.

— dennis pillion, AL.com, "Tick-borne illnesses, including Lyme disease, on the rise in Alabama," 3 July 2017
But children and adults can suffer serious liver, kidney and nervous system damage from swallowing water containing the algae.

— don sweeney, sacbee.com, "Toxic algae bloom kills two dogs in Napa as warnings proliferate," 2 July 2017
A recent study published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence also found that a very low dose of THC, one of the main compounds in marijuana, helped people feel less nervous about a public-speaking task.

— amanda macmillan, Health.com, "10 Things to Know About Pot and Your Health," 29 June 2017

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

First Known Use of nervous

14th century

nervous Synonyms

Synonyms

aflutter, antsy, anxious, atwitter, dithery, edgy, goosey, het up, hinky [slang], hung up, ill at ease, insecure, jittery, jumpy, nervy, perturbed, queasy (also queazy), tense, troubled, uneasy, unquiet, upset, uptight, worried, keyed up, on edge, on pins and needles, on tenterhooks

Antonyms

calm, collected, cool, easy, happy-go-lucky, nerveless, relaxed

Near Antonyms

confident, self-assured, self-confident, sure; controlled, self-controlled

Synonym Discussion of nervous

vigorous, energetic, strenuous, lusty, nervous mean having or showing great vitality and force. vigorous further implies showing no signs of depletion or diminishing of freshness or robustness.

- as vigorous as a youth half his age

energetic suggests a capacity for intense activity.

- an energetic campaigner

strenuous suggests a preference for coping with the arduous or the challenging.

- the strenuous life on an oil rig

lusty implies exuberant energy and capacity for enjoyment.

- a lusty appetite for life

nervous suggests especially the forcibleness and sustained effectiveness resulting from mental vigor.

- full of nervous energy

NERVOUS Defined for English Language Learners

nervous

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adjective

Definition of nervous for English Language Learners

: having or showing feelings of being worried and afraid about what might happen
: often or easily becoming worried and afraid about what might happen
: causing someone to feel worried and afraid : making someone nervous

NERVOUS Defined for Kids

nervous

play

adjective ner·vous \ ˈnər-vəs \

Definition of nervous for Students

1 :having or showing feelings of worry, fear, or anxiety

Having to give a speech makes me nervous.

2 :easily becoming worried, frightened, or anxious

She's a nervous driver.

3 :of, relating to, or made up of nerves or nerve cells

nervous tissue

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nervously

adverb

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nervousness

noun

Medical Dictionary

nervous

play

adjective ner·vous \ ˈnər-vəs \

medical Definition of nervous

1 :of, relating to, or composed of neurons

the nervous layer of the eye

2 a :of or relating to the nerves; also :originating in or affected by the nerves

nervous energy

b :easily excited or irritated

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nervously

adverb

—

nervousness

noun

Learn More about nervous

See words that rhyme with nervous Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for nervous Spanish Central: Translation of nervous Nglish: Translation of nervous for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of nervous for Arabic speakers

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From the M-W Editors

Examples of nervous in a Sentence

Recent Examples of nervous from the Web

First Known Use of nervous

nervous Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

Synonym Discussion of nervous

Phrases Related to NERVOUS

Related Phrases

NERVOUS Defined for English Language Learners

nervous

Definition of nervous for English Language Learners

NERVOUS Defined for Kids

nervous

Definition of nervous for Students

nervously

nervousness

Medical Dictionary

nervous

medical Definition of nervous

nervously

nervousness

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