variants
or nerve-wracking
as in nervous
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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of nerve-racking
What could be an exciting, life-changing experience can turn into a nerve-racking encounter that many people of color do not want to have again.
—
Serena Billett, Charlotte Observer, 20 May 2025
One of them is a nerve-racking, crosscutting game of misdirection and accumulating danger atop a balance beam.
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 19 May 2025
What should have been an incredibly nerve-racking week for Liverpool and their fans is now simply just people being excited about watching the Premier League’s new champions play again.
—Andy Jones, New York Times, 11 May 2025
Fridays have become some of the most nerve-racking times for mass firings of civil servants since President Donald Trump took office on January 20 and established DOGE.
—Nathan Layne, USA Today, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nerve-racking
Serena Billett, Charlotte Observer, 20 May 2025
One of them is a nerve-racking, crosscutting game of misdirection and accumulating danger atop a balance beam.
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 19 May 2025
What should have been an incredibly nerve-racking week for Liverpool and their fans is now simply just people being excited about watching the Premier League’s new champions play again.
—Andy Jones, New York Times, 11 May 2025
Fridays have become some of the most nerve-racking times for mass firings of civil servants since President Donald Trump took office on January 20 and established DOGE.
—Nathan Layne, USA Today, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nerve-racking
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nerve-racking
Adjective
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But as Trump appears to ignore court decisions and high-level administration officials are suggesting suspending the writ of habeas corpus, Bolick is nervous the United States is heading toward authoritarianism.—
Amanda Luberto,
AZCentral.com,
13 Aug. 2025
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Students, meanwhile, often get nervous about asking for clarification or diving deeper into a topic in front of their peers.—
Shelbie Witte,
The Conversation,
12 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Earlier this year, Trump appeared to side with Moscow, temporarily halting military aid and confronting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a tense Oval Office meeting.—
Hannah Parry
Amanda Castro
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Aug. 2025
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Take the tense scene inside a packed auditorium in Lincoln, Nebraska, recently, where Republican Rep. Mike Flood faced hundreds of constituents during an August 4 town hall.—
Saige Miller,
NPR,
15 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The vices of deficiency, such as being anxious, agitated, impatient, inattentive, and rash, are common everyday experiences.—
Mary Crossan,
Forbes.com,
16 Aug. 2025
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Orange County students are returning to class this month as districts navigate an anxious back-to-school season shaped by immigration raids over the summer and the possibility that attendance drops could cut into school funding.—
Hanna Kang,
Oc Register,
15 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The United States and China have settled into a steady state of pragmatic, if uneasy, détente.—
Phil Mattingly,
CNN Money,
13 Aug. 2025
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Reading Zeller’s book, I was reminded that there is a kind of uneasy fellowship in this condition—a vast, involuntary community of people mapping out their lives between attacks, haunted by uncertainty but sustained in part by accounts like his.—
Jerome Groopman,
New Yorker,
11 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Not sure what’s funnier and more disturbing, Sweet Tooth’s urine test coming back as a black goo, or Axel not allowing a blood sample, presumably because his blood is gasoline.—
Rafael Motamayor,
Vulture,
14 Aug. 2025
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In the spring, Linda appeared in a disturbing social media video lifting the lid on the dysfunction in the family.—
Madeleine Marr,
Miami Herald,
13 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nerve-racking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nerve-racking. Accessed 23 Aug. 2025.
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