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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of nerve-racking
For Riverside residents living in the surrounding area, the incident is nerve-racking and a little too close to home.
—
Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 13 Jan. 2026
Meeting the rapper, 44, in person proved to be a nerve-racking experience.
—Jordan Greene, PEOPLE, 6 Jan. 2026
Caregiving like no other One reason that mental health caregivers particularly need support is that caring for someone with a serious mental illness can be nerve-racking, simply because of the nature of these disorders and diseases.
—Kat McGowan, NPR, 31 Dec. 2025
That was honestly the most nerve-racking thing.
—Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 25 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nerve-racking
Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 13 Jan. 2026
Meeting the rapper, 44, in person proved to be a nerve-racking experience.
—Jordan Greene, PEOPLE, 6 Jan. 2026
Caregiving like no other One reason that mental health caregivers particularly need support is that caring for someone with a serious mental illness can be nerve-racking, simply because of the nature of these disorders and diseases.
—Kat McGowan, NPR, 31 Dec. 2025
That was honestly the most nerve-racking thing.
—Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 25 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nerve-racking
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nerve-racking
Adjective
-
Yet at the height of his triumph, Brooks was uneasy.—
Rob Wolfe,
The Atlantic,
5 June 2026
-
After feeling uneasy about being famous for comedy at first, Faris now sees it as a privilege.—
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
4 June 2026
Adjective
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This approach to archival material thus wrestles with a disturbing present in which family dispossession is both normalized and pathologized in the media every single day.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 June 2026
-
The report, released Thursday, details disturbing accounts from several of Platner’s ex-girlfriends.—
Britta Miller,
The Washington Examiner,
6 June 2026
Adjective
-
Antonelli leads by 43 points from Russell after a tense wheel-to-wheel battle between them at the last race in Canada ended abruptly with an engine failure for Russell.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
6 June 2026
-
Scott Pelley was then fired this week after a tense confrontation with CBS News bosses.—
Jocelyn Noveck,
Fortune,
6 June 2026
Adjective
-
Spinella shucks off sentimentality, always showing us Con’s offhand humor and sometimes nervous, defensive rambling.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
3 June 2026
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Companies start to get nervous when the percentage of shareholders blessing their pay plans dips well below the average, which is slightly above 90%, said Elizabeth Bieber, partner at the law firm Freshfields who leads shareholder engagement.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
2 June 2026
Adjective
-
At one end is the anxious, under‑saved retiree doing everything possible to stretch limited assets.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
7 June 2026
-
During the first week of the cell phone ban at my school, students were anxious about losing the constant stream of their music, the ability to maintain instant communication with friends, and the immediate access to their social media feeds.—
Sarah Said,
Chicago Tribune,
5 June 2026
Adjective
-
This unsettling event haunted Stephen for decades, driving him to collaborate with filmmakers Cynthia Hill and Christine Delp in a search for answers.—
James Mercadante,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 June 2026
-
When an unsettling piece of evidence is revealed, Tara and her crew investigate the disturbing circumstances surrounding the case and attempt to uncover the truth about her brother’s disappearance.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
4 June 2026
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
Adjective
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Despite its unnerving intimacy, which suggests either erotic pursuit or familiar proximity, the diminutive print calls to mind the photos of Saul Leiter, a figure surprisingly unmentioned in Ghirri’s essays despite his frequent fond allusions to American street photography.—
James Quandt,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
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Kane Parsons' feature debut is an unnerving meditation on memory.—
Brianna Zigler,
Entertainment Weekly,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Nerve-racking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nerve-racking. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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