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 That’s the nerve-racking part of this (World Cup); the watching, the waiting. — Michael Silver, New York Times, 23 June 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • But these four films manage to create genuinely unnerving atmospheres of dread.
    — David Faris, TheWeek, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Artificial intelligence, or basically anything unmanned, is unnerving.
    — Doug Turnbull, AJC.com, 11 Oct. 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 26 Oct. 2026.

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