NAIL-BITING Synonyms: 38 Similar and Opposite Words

nail-biting

adjective

as in tense

marked by or causing agitation or uncomfortable feelings for a couple of nail-biting moments we thought that we had actually won the mega lottery

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Recent Examples of nail-biting Doncic hit three clutch three-pointers late in the fourth quarter and took a momentum-swinging charge to lead the Lakers to a nail-biting 132-123 victory over the Utah Jazz on Sunday at Delta Center. — Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2026 Condé Nast Traveler sat down with Phuntsok, Peedom, and Hiddleston to discuss recreating Everest’s summit in New Zealand, filming a nail-biting sequence in a seemingly bottomless crevasse, and the power of being an outsider in a team setting. — Tamara Southward, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 Oct. 2026 When the discussion came to his Oscar-winning turn in the Coen brothers’ No Country for Old Men (2007), the audience was shown the nail-biting coin toss scene between Bardem’s terrifying killer Anton Chigurh and supporting actor Gene Jones. — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 11 Oct. 2026 Clouzot adapted the book into the 1955 film Diabolique, a nail-biting thriller set at an all-boys boarding school on the outskirts of Paris. — Air Mail, 10 Oct. 2026 Set at a castle deep in the Scottish Highlands, this nail-biting psychological adventure sees contestants work together on a series of exhilarating missions to build a prize fund worth up to $250,000. — Katie Campione, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2026 Texas passed its first SEC test with what turned out to be a nail-biting 20-17 win over Tennessee in Knoxville. — Reid Laymance, Houston Chronicle, 27 Sep. 2026 During the nail-biting matchup, Travis, 36, set the NFL record for most yards after a first-quarter catch from Patrick Mahomes that led to a touchdown, surpassing Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk to solidify himself at the top of the list. — Skyler Caruso, PEOPLE, 22 Sep. 2026 Our final action scene isn’t the biggest or brashest, but certainly the most nail-biting and, pound for pound, the most consequential of the season. — Andy Andersen, Vulture, 20 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for nail-biting

Adjective

The tax came up in a conversation between the two after negotiations between Zuckerberg and the committee appeared to grow tense.

— Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2026
In this tense political climate, Becker said, even straightforward election mistakes are magnified on social media and become the subject of conspiracy theories, making the job of local elections officials much more difficult.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of tense

Adjective

Giving team members insight into what is known, what remains unchanged and what may come next can help people navigate uneasy periods of uncertainty with greater confidence.

— Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Experts say Chinese officials likely felt uneasy about that opening.

— ABC News, ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of uneasy

Adjective

For Daughtry, who was dispatched to work the crash by his editor that day, the assignment was one of the most disturbing of his career.

— Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 21 Oct. 2026
This disturbing contradiction suggests that different physical laws apply to the observer and the observed.

— Philipp Strasberg, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of disturbing

Adjective

There’s something so unsettling about a game show where the contestants’ well-being is not considered, and The Tonight Show leaned into that uncanniness to great effect.

— Bethy Squires, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2026
The series explores the unsettling collision of ancient witchcraft beliefs and modern digital dating culture.

— Samantha Bergeson, Time, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of unsettling

Adjective

The director general was attempting to lift the gloom after being beset with questions from anxious employees about job losses, service reductions, and general retrenchment.

— Max Goldbart, Deadline, 24 Oct. 2026
An anxious child Apart from her scribbled notes, scant details are available about Runa’s experience in detention, according to her lawyer Yoshihiro Mukai.

— Hanako Montgomery, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026

Definition of anxious

Adjective

Since the incident, the flamingo has been doing all right physically but is more anxious and nervous when being evaluated, said Peachy’s veterinarian, Tiffany Moore, medical director of Lone Mountain Animal Hospital.

— Jessica Hill, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026
As the military-style helicopter hovered above them, attendees from the rural, predominantly Latino community, began to get nervous.

— Philip Wang, Time, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of nervous

Adjective

Snapping open and shut the phone satisfied some deep, restless urge, and the same was true for the rotational flourish of the wrist involved in opening and closing the knife.

— Terrence O'Brien, The Verge, 17 Oct. 2026
The basal ganglia get better at their job during the first thirty years of life; this is partly why kids are more impulsive and restless than adults.

— Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of restless

Adjective

When the body is starving, the brain will return an incessant and often distressing loop of thoughts about food, an adaptive response designed to prioritize renourishment that clinicians try to harness rather than shut down.

— Anna Cooban, CNN Money, 15 Oct. 2026
The details are stark and distressing, but Udal wants to talk about it to try to raise awareness of mental illness.

— Paul Newman, New York Times, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of distressing

Browse Nearby Words

nail-biters

nail-biting

nail (down)

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“Nail-biting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nail-biting. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of nail-biting

adjective

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