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 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 In the best-case scenario, what follows will be 13 minutes of nerve-racking tension—about half of which will be in radio blackout. — Lee Billings, Scientific American, 9 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
  • But further listens reveal something uneasy below the surface.
    — Ethan Beck, Pitchfork, 23 July 2026
  • Casey imagines America as a crumbling hotel, with each of the album’s nine songs occupying a room haunted by its own uneasy guest.
    — SPIN Staff, SPIN, 22 July 2026
Definition of uneasy
Adjective
  • Stuck together, wandering through thick green woods for days, the conversation between Sam and Paul drifts in an increasingly disturbing direction.
    — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 22 July 2026
  • Wilde noted how Musk has perpetuated some of incel culture’s more disturbing ideology, particularly the belief that men are more powerful than nature.
    — Zack Sharf, Variety, 22 July 2026
Definition of disturbing
Adjective
  • The first is a tense sequence where Hwang as he and a group of men shoot their way through the wreckage of their town — only to finally come face to face with the gigantic alien preying upon them.
    — Angelique Jackson, Variety, 24 July 2026
  • Cordes and Haake are keen and tense, their hands raised, but Hasnie has relaxed, withdrawing briefly into her thoughts.
    — Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 24 July 2026
Definition of tense
Adjective
  • And investors are increasingly nervous about when and whether the mind-boggling sums being spent by Big Tech on data centers will ever generate returns.
    — Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 23 July 2026
  • This can reduce uncertainty for patients who are nervous about traveling abroad.
    — Nia Bowers, USA Today, 22 July 2026
Definition of nervous
Adjective
  • Kids who, like him, are growing up afraid and anxious because of domestic violence at home, and who need what Torre didn’t have — somewhere safe to go to for help.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2026
  • In June, a group of anxious European policy researchers issued Europe 2031, a scenario in which civilization between the Urals and the Atlantic ends up at least functionally extinct.
    — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 25 July 2026
Definition of anxious
Adjective
  • The image could be a still from a film about an alien invasion, although the ominous light almost makes the figures seem like cinemagoers transfixed by something unsettling playing out onscreen.
    — Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 24 July 2026
  • The Houthi threat is so unsettling to oil markets because millions of barrels per day pass through the Bab el-Mandeb strait to reach global markets.
    — Steve Kopack, NBC news, 23 July 2026
Definition of unsettling
Adjective
  • And yet behind the distressful scene, a young man continues to butcher an animal.
    — Kaely Monahan, The Arizona Republic, 27 Mar. 2024
  • Despite the distressful news of Houston’s death that day, the event went forward to create a space for guests to mourn.
    — Elizabeth Wagmeister, CNN, 2 Feb. 2024
Definition of distressful
Adjective
  • For Perry, however, the paradox of the Madden Center has become even more unnerving.
    — Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 23 July 2026
  • But the groaning synthesizer underneath her bashful smile tells you something is off — a crystalline tone now distended, unnerving.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 21 July 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 27 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on nerve-racking

Nglish: Translation of nerve-racking for Spanish Speakers

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