nerve-racking

adjective

ˈnərv-ˌra-kiŋ How to pronounce nerve-racking (audio)
variants or nerve-wracking
Definition of nerve-rackingnext
as in uneasy
marked by or causing agitation or uncomfortable feelings the nerve-racking wait to learn the identities of the passengers who were killed in the plane crash

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of nerve-racking Making your Major League debut is nerve-racking enough, but doing so while trying to preserve a no-hitter is a different kind of pressure. — Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 26 May 2026 Feeling the weight of an entire country seems like a nerve-racking prospect, but the women of BINI take it in stride. — Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 17 Apr. 2026 One of the most dangerous and nerve-racking parts of the Artemis II mission is still ahead. — Tom Costello, NBC news, 10 Apr. 2026 Whitaker is just starting his first year, but is that nerve-racking to know as an actor? — Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 10 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for nerve-racking
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nerve-racking
  1. uneasy
  2. disturbing
  3. tense
  4. nervous
  5. anxious
  6. unsettling
  7. distressful
  8. unnerving
Adjective
  • Kurt's key takeaways Hearing AI on a 911 call would make a lot of people uneasy.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Falwell correctly sensed vulnerability in the uneasy alliance between rationalism and Christianity that had prevailed since the eighteenth-century Enlightenment.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of uneasy
Adjective
  • Last awards season, the gossip around town, salacious and disturbing in equal measure, was that hotel suites all over Hollywood were populated by tailors taking in gowns coming straight off the runway.
    — Marti Noxon, HollywoodReporter, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The disturbing situation came to light after a tree fell on the home during a storm.
    — Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of disturbing
Adjective
  • After hours of argument that at times grew tense, a hearing Thursday ended without a ruling from Magistrate Judge Lauren Louis, and the Tates were returned to jail.
    — Jonny Hallam, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2026
  • In Danbury, protesters have had tense confrontations with ICE officers, who responded at least once with pepper spray, according to activists.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of tense
Adjective
  • Nvidia's forecast comes at a time when investors remain nervous about capital expenditures from large tech companies, the circular nature of financing deals and the return from AI investments.
    — Kai Nicol-Schwarz,Arjun Kharpal, CNBC, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Why bats can pose a rabies risk Rabies spreads through the saliva or nervous tissue of an infected mammal, usually through a bite.
    — Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of nervous
Adjective
  • Being anxious or nervous about this big step in your career is very normal.
    — Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Super teams share prompts openly, coached by leaders who use the tools themselves, which leaves them markedly less anxious about AI displacing their jobs.
    — Rodger Dean Duncan, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of anxious
Adjective
  • The film follows Niaz (Bakhtadze), a once-famous star of Georgian cinema who embarks on a bizarre and fatalistic odyssey of self-transformation, after an unsettling audition with a young female director looking to cast him in a minor part.
    — Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Learning from the doctor that your cholesterol levels are higher than recommended can be an unsettling wake-up call.
    — Gavin Escott, USA Today, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of unsettling
Adjective
  • Carrying debt can be incredibly distressful, especially with sky-high prices for food, gas and housing.
    — Mallika Mitra, Sacbee.com, 24 Aug. 2026
  • And yet behind the distressful scene, a young man continues to butcher an animal.
    — Kaely Monahan, The Arizona Republic, 27 Mar. 2024
Definition of distressful
Adjective
  • No More, understands that anticipation can be far more unnerving than whatever eventually jumps out of the darkness.
    — Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 26 Aug. 2026
  • But the nightmarish realms of the Further retain their unnerving power, and some of the old-school ghost movie thrills are well done.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of unnerving

Browse Nearby Words

nervelessly
nerve-racking
nerves
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Cite this Entry

“Nerve-racking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nerve-racking. Accessed 29 Aug. 2026.

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