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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nail-biting
Adjective
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In a tense Monday-night matchup in San Francisco, the Golden State Warriors held off the Houston Rockets 109-106 to take a 3-1 lead in their Western Conference first-round series.—
Anthony Slater,
New York Times,
29 Apr. 2025 -
They are characterized by tense exchanges, audience ejections and, in one case, stun guns deployed to subdue two attendees.—
Averi Harper,
ABC News,
29 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Consumer sentiment and expectations Americans are feeling uneasy about the economy, and that is showing up in the data.—
Russ Wiles,
USA Today,
24 Apr. 2025
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Still, Ruark is increasingly uneasy about the future.—
Catherine Baab,
Quartz,
22 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The lack of caring about my childhood was so disturbing.—
Larisha Paul,
Rolling Stone,
28 Apr. 2025
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Furthermore, there is often an undercurrent of mysticism surrounding the egg, with birth and death at the center—a dualism as true as it is sometimes disturbing.—
Irene Coltrinari,
Vogue,
25 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The voice of Pope Francis has been such a voice—gentle, disarming, and at times, unsettling.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Apr. 2025
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These experiments busted the urban myth but also pointed to a the truth about how companies like Facebook sometimes serve up such disturbingly accurate advertisements that is much more complex, and unsettling.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
24 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Another reason people put off going to bed is to avoid feeling anxious or restless, said James Rowley, MD, a sleep medicine expert at Rush University Medical Center and spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.—
Maggie O'Neill,
Verywell Health,
30 Apr. 2025
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Professionally, Xavier is anxious about future tax exposure from his deferred compensation.—
Brian Lasher,
Forbes.com,
30 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Dellow was nervous about rush hour traffic, but the Uber dropped Nikishin off at 6:45 p.m. at the airport.—
Peter Baugh,
New York Times,
1 May 2025
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Your younger colleague is nervous about each conversation.—
Jay Sullivan,
Forbes.com,
30 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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At one point, the crowd in Los Angeles was growing restless, Ms. Reese said, with people pushing one another to reach the front.—
Alisha Haridasani Gupta,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2025
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Last weekend, the sun was particularly restless, unleashing eight M-class solar flares between Friday and Monday.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes.com,
16 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Gabriela’s stalker exit arc & likely return DEADLINE: After being put through the ringer the last three seasons, Gabriela got to end her arc with a creepy stalker storyline.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
25 Apr. 2025
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Less time zipping between love interests will hopefully mean more time to solve the mystery of the creepy texter who began sending her cryptic, threatening messages in the final moments of Season 1.—
Radhika Seth,
Vogue,
23 Apr. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Nail-biting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nail-biting. Accessed 7 May. 2025.
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