variants
or nerve-wracking
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of nerve-racking
The man, who narrowly avoided a severe bear attack, gets to leave the frightening incident with a nerve-racking animal encounter story to share with his friends.
—
Kelli Bender, PEOPLE, 26 Sep. 2025
Zero computer intervention is fun, without a doubt, but also a little nerve-racking when small drifts of gravel dot the road and undulations in the asphalt can cause momentary losses in traction.
—Michael Teo Van Runkle, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
To make for a more energy efficient and less nerve-racking exodus experience, once the line grows large enough, pulsing begins, wherein vehicles move in packs rather than lurch along at 5 mph.
—Denver Nicks, Rolling Stone, 14 Sep. 2025
With a meditation tape on and old nightmares in his head, the images flicker between ocean waves and nerve-racking curves, from zen calm to zen focus.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for nerve-racking
Kelli Bender, PEOPLE, 26 Sep. 2025
Zero computer intervention is fun, without a doubt, but also a little nerve-racking when small drifts of gravel dot the road and undulations in the asphalt can cause momentary losses in traction.
—Michael Teo Van Runkle, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
To make for a more energy efficient and less nerve-racking exodus experience, once the line grows large enough, pulsing begins, wherein vehicles move in packs rather than lurch along at 5 mph.
—Denver Nicks, Rolling Stone, 14 Sep. 2025
With a meditation tape on and old nightmares in his head, the images flicker between ocean waves and nerve-racking curves, from zen calm to zen focus.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for nerve-racking
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nerve-racking
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
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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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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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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
-
There was a lot of nervous smiling.—
Raechal Shewfelt,
Entertainment Weekly,
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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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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And yet behind the distressful scene, a young man continues to butcher an animal.—
Kaely Monahan,
The Arizona Republic,
27 Mar. 2024
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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
Adjective
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In my favorite works of his, like A Case for the Existence of God and A Bright New Boise—a play that has its own surreal dynamic with television screens, which play images of hell in the middle of a big-box store—Hunter locates an unnerving mysticism in between the atoms of the hyper-real.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
31 Oct. 2025
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For instance, Bella's first meeting with Edward in their biology class is supposed to be this unnerving moment, where Bella is disturbed by Edward's apparent repulsion toward her.—
Edward Segarra,
USA Today,
31 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nerve-racking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nerve-racking. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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