1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

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

Relevance

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 Making your Major League debut is nerve-racking enough, but doing so while trying to preserve a no-hitter is a different kind of pressure. — Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 26 May 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
  • Sam Altman is leading OpenAI through perhaps the most consequential—and uneasy—moment in artificial intelligence yet.
    — Fortune Editors, Fortune, 15 Sep. 2026
  • In a desperate race against time, Rosalind and Sean are forced into an uneasy alliance, fighting to save her husband and expose a global trafficking empire that eliminates anyone who tries to stop it.
    — Alex Ritman, Variety, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of uneasy
Adjective
  • More than a month after Perez Hilton appeared in a disturbing livestream appearing to engage in acts of self-harm at this Miami-area home, his family is addressing the rumor mill.
    — Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 16 Sep. 2026
  • As tensions rise and boundaries begin to blur, their grandmother’s frail presence takes on an increasingly disturbing quality, turning a once-idyllic summer into a haunting passage into adulthood.
    — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of disturbing
Adjective
  • Ties between Kosovo and Serbia remain tense, despite years of negotiations mediated by the European Union and supported by the United States.
    — CNN Money, CNN Money, 16 Sep. 2026
  • This also enabled Laporta to improve his previously tense relationship with UEFA and its president, Aleksander Ceferin.
    — Pol Ballús, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of tense
Adjective
  • One grandmother initially didn’t understand what the couple was asking, while two were a little nervous about taking on a role traditionally given to children.
    — Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 15 Sep. 2026
  • But one area that has Chiefs fans a little nervous is the offensive line that will be tasked with keeping Mahomes upright.
    — Scott Chasen, Kansas City Star, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of nervous
Adjective
  • That feels very much in tune with the anxious characters Eisenberg has played over the course of his acting career, but this whole directing thing is working out nicely for him, too.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Nelson remembers hushing her foster children back to sleep that night and calling 911, anxious for an end to those sleepless nights.
    — Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of anxious
Adjective
  • Nelson took 12 years to get the project made, and that labor-of-love aspect shows in the soulfulness and meticulous care the writer-director brings to this unsettling story of violence begetting violence, based on actual events.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Trapped together in the heavy, stifling isolation of the summer heat, the siblings’ bond begins to shift into something unsettling and difficult to define.
    — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 14 Sep. 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
  • For other families quietly and often despairingly living with similar problems of addiction and mental illness involving their children, the tragedy is an unnerving, looming specter — a worst-case scenario made real.
    — Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Yet ballrooms dipped in gold are still not as unnerving as the fact that America’s $40 trillion federal debt is now bigger than the entire annual economic output of almost every single nation on Earth.
    — Pat Beall, Sun Sentinel, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of unnerving

Browse Nearby Words

nervelessly
nerve-racking
nerves
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Nerve-racking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nerve-racking. Accessed 20 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of volition

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All