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
Another distraction was Saturday night’s Major League Baseball championships, which saw the Los Angeles Dodgers score a victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in a nail-biting Game 7.
—
Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 2 Nov. 2025
The matchup between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays has produced some seriously nail-biting moments, and some of the most famous people in the world have been front row, catching the action alongside fans.
—Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 29 Oct. 2025
The trail of clues leads directly to pinning New York mayor Beau Tillman (Keegan-Michael Key) with Lester’s murder — which, yeah, is just what the real New York City needs in the midst of our own nail-biting mayoral race.
—Devon Ivie, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2025
Its many nail-biting scenes are petrifying, to say the least.
—Michael Lee Simpson, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Oct. 2025
And the Carolina Panthers (4-4) and the Los Angeles Chargers (5-3) each pulled off nail-biting fourth-quarter come-from-behind wins against the Dolphins in wins the defense gift-wrapped its opponents.
—Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 28 Oct. 2025
Landing anything on the moon isn’t easy, as demonstrated by Apollo 11’s nail-biting touchdown, in which the Lunar Module Eagle overshot the landing site leaving only minutes of fuel to find a safe landing spot, as well as by recent Athena mission overturned landings.
—Dan Vergano, Scientific American, 23 Oct. 2025
And while Powell needed approval, so did helmer Wright, recalling the nail-biting experience of sending over a first draft of the script he co-wrote with Michael Bacall.
—Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 19 Oct. 2025
The Southwest Classic resembles that matchup in some ways, though the Razorbacks may struggle to mount the same scoreline against an Aggies roster that appears to have learnt some lessons since that nail-biting win.
—Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Oct. 2025
Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 2 Nov. 2025
The matchup between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays has produced some seriously nail-biting moments, and some of the most famous people in the world have been front row, catching the action alongside fans.
—Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 29 Oct. 2025
The trail of clues leads directly to pinning New York mayor Beau Tillman (Keegan-Michael Key) with Lester’s murder — which, yeah, is just what the real New York City needs in the midst of our own nail-biting mayoral race.
—Devon Ivie, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2025
Its many nail-biting scenes are petrifying, to say the least.
—Michael Lee Simpson, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Oct. 2025
And the Carolina Panthers (4-4) and the Los Angeles Chargers (5-3) each pulled off nail-biting fourth-quarter come-from-behind wins against the Dolphins in wins the defense gift-wrapped its opponents.
—Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 28 Oct. 2025
Landing anything on the moon isn’t easy, as demonstrated by Apollo 11’s nail-biting touchdown, in which the Lunar Module Eagle overshot the landing site leaving only minutes of fuel to find a safe landing spot, as well as by recent Athena mission overturned landings.
—Dan Vergano, Scientific American, 23 Oct. 2025
And while Powell needed approval, so did helmer Wright, recalling the nail-biting experience of sending over a first draft of the script he co-wrote with Michael Bacall.
—Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 19 Oct. 2025
The Southwest Classic resembles that matchup in some ways, though the Razorbacks may struggle to mount the same scoreline against an Aggies roster that appears to have learnt some lessons since that nail-biting win.
—Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nail-biting
Adjective
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The seven states dependent on the river’s dwindling flows have been locked in tense negotiations over this for years.—
Shaun McKinnon,
AZCentral.com,
4 Nov. 2025
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The incident came after a tense year for Harvard students, teachers and staff who were thrust into the national spotlight amid the White House’s push to reshape higher education.—
Michelle Watson,
CNN Money,
4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Across its run, The Witcher has traced the uneasy bond between Geralt of Rivia (Liam Hemsworth), the monster hunter bound by destiny; Ciri (Freya Allan), the princess whose power could save or destroy worlds; and Yennefer (Anya Chalotra), the sorceress torn between ambition and love.—
JP Mangalindan,
Time,
30 Oct. 2025
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In the Odyssey, Homer depicts Helen and Menelaus’s reunion as uneasy and sometimes tearful, after years of estrangement.—
Elizabeth D. Samet,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
With 31 percent of adults and 80 percent of adolescents not meeting recommended levels of physical activity, researchers have unveiled a disturbing glimpse of what the long-term impacts on our health and appearance could look like.—
Hannah Millington,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
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The film follows his lead, constructing a near-relentless study of misery that culminates in a disturbing finale.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Rather, the Lamb baby is literally the face of a lamb and the body of a human child, which is unsettling in a wholly novel way.—
Dennis Perkins,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Oct. 2025
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The problem is that among the general public, the optics are unsettling.—
David Hill,
Rolling Stone,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Redirect their attention If your dog is anxious and barking in a panic, your first step is to remove them from the trigger.—
Madeline Gunderson,
USA Today,
2 Nov. 2025
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Late nights and anxious supplications.—
Steve Rushin,
The Atlantic,
2 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The dogs' job on marathon day will be to calm race-day jitters at the starting line, where runners can feel overwhelmed or nervous about the trek ahead.—
Kelli Bender,
PEOPLE,
31 Oct. 2025
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There was a lot of nervous smiling.—
Raechal Shewfelt,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Despite three tumultuous relocations in the past half-century, most recently a defection to Sin City five years ago, the Raiders still have a rabid fan base — at Allegiant, every game day is Halloween — and the natives and transplants (including 62,080 attendees Sunday) are getting restless.—
Michael Silver,
New York Times,
3 Nov. 2025
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Recent celebratory concerts dedicated to the two have been sites not of reverence but of restless rediscovery.—
Alex Ross,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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In mystery thriller Hallow Road directed by Babak Anvari and William Gillies and written by Gillies, parents receive a distressing late-night call from their teenage daughter, who has just accidentally hit a pedestrian.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
31 Oct. 2025
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Using a silhouette reminiscent of the iconic 1920s Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star, the Maison Margiela Loved to Death sneakers dial up the distressing with visible seams, raw edges and distressed rubber soles, but that’s only the beginning.—
Riley Jones,
Footwear News,
30 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nail-biting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nail-biting. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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