1
as in gall
shameless boldness
you've got a lot of nerve showing up here
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in courage
strength of mind to carry on in spite of danger
that daring rescue took some nerve
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in shakes
nerves plural
a sense of panic or extreme nervousness
a veteran performer who still gets a case of the nerves before performances
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to brace
to prepare (oneself) mentally or emotionally
needs to nerve himself for the big game tomorrow
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of nerve
Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 July 2025
The researchers employed a range of advanced laboratory techniques to investigate nerve regeneration.
—New Atlas, 13 July 2025
As Nicola, Davidtz hurls herself into a hot-blooded, scenery-chomping performance in which her cheekbones and nerves get harsher as the film goes on.
—Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2025
Air pollutants like ozone and nitrogen dioxide can cause inflammation in the nerves that play a role in migraines.
—Danielle Wilhour, The Conversation, 10 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for nerve
Noun
King has been out since mid-May with a nerve impingement near his right shoulder and is essentially in build-up mode.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 July 2025
The researchers employed a range of advanced laboratory techniques to investigate nerve regeneration.
—New Atlas, 13 July 2025
As Nicola, Davidtz hurls herself into a hot-blooded, scenery-chomping performance in which her cheekbones and nerves get harsher as the film goes on.
—Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2025
Air pollutants like ozone and nitrogen dioxide can cause inflammation in the nerves that play a role in migraines.
—Danielle Wilhour, The Conversation, 10 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for nerve
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nerve
Noun
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People were essentially imprisoned in their homes, yet Newsom had the gall to dine mask-free at French Laundry with lobbyists.—
Houman Hemmati,
Oc Register,
20 July 2025
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And for all this some institutions have the gall to charge undergraduates upwards of $100,000 a year!—
Adrian Wooldridge,
Twin Cities,
6 May 2025
Noun
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True leadership courage lies in rallying teams around a noble cause and recognizing when identity has become a barrier to necessary evolution.—
Nate Bennett,
Forbes.com,
17 July 2025
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Representing someone who could face capital punishment requires a unique combination of experience, courage and dedication, said Bob Boruchowitz, longtime director of the Defender Initiative at Seattle University’s law school.—
Kevin Fixler,
Idaho Statesman,
17 July 2025
Verb
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Leesburg, a city in central Florida north of Orlando, broke its heat record Sunday after reaching 100 degrees as well, and the rest of the region is bracing for more potentially record-breaking triple-digit temperatures Monday and Tuesday.—
Zachary Folk,
Forbes.com,
28 July 2025
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Now, schools are bracing for the start of the semester: Teachers and students told USA TODAY that fear lingers for many immigrant students ahead of the new school year.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA Today,
28 July 2025
Noun
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The sweeping track was inspired in part by Rebecca Solnit’s 2014 collection Men Explain Things to Me, with the titular essay providing a scathing look at male arrogance and how conversations between men and women go awry.—
Daniel Kreps,
Rolling Stone,
16 July 2025
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But nothing in his tenure captures all at once the sense of arrogance, tone-deafness to the concerns of Floridians and obsession with keeping secrets.—
Orlando Sentinel,
The Orlando Sentinel,
20 June 2025
Noun
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Larry loomed very large in their lives for a long time, so there was definitely a lot of bravery that people showed in coming forward to tell their truth.—
Elisabeth Garber-Paul,
Rolling Stone,
20 July 2025
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To come forward takes an extreme amount of bravery.—
Julia Bonavita,
FOXNews.com,
16 July 2025
Verb
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Tensions over the exchange led to Cambodian, then later Thai, soldiers fortifying positions along the border.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
25 July 2025
-
Probiotic Juices Probiotic juices are fruit and vegetable juices that have been fortified with probiotics.—
Lana Barhum,
Verywell Health,
23 July 2025
Noun
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Each account is filled with a mixture of heroism and doomed misadventure.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
22 July 2025
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Letting the action unfold in something close to real time, director Fred Zinnemann builds the tension slowly, letting Kane’s mounting desperation, rather than gunfights and acts of heroism, push the film along.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
18 July 2025
Verb
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Because the World Cup will be played in the U.S., Mexico and Canada, those countries have been spared an arduous qualifying competition — tense games that would have steeled them for the tournament ahead.—
Kevin Baxter,
Los Angeles Times,
10 June 2025
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The founders of Chime trudged into Amino Capital's bare-bones office early one Saturday morning in the summer of 2013, steeling themselves for disappointment.—
Stephen Pastis,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nerve.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nerve. Accessed 3 Aug. 2025.
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