1
as in worried
feeling or showing uncomfortable feelings of uncertainty
he was nervous about how he would do at the varsity basketball tryouts
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in uneasy
marked by or causing agitation or uncomfortable feelings
a nervous silence filled the room as the teacher handed out the graded exams
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in excitable
easily excited by nature
a nervous sort of person, she's completely thrown by anything unexpected
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of nervous
In her third ensemble of the night, when accepting the best pop artist award, Grande was visibly nervous about taking the best pop artist trophy.
—
Taylor Ardrey, USA Today, 8 Sep. 2025
There’s also a lovely waiting room exchange with a nervous older cancer patient (screen veteran Aurore Clément), full of fears and reassurances.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2025
Ken Griffin, like many others, is nervous about the precedent this sets.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 8 Sep. 2025
Not enough to make the Charlotte Hornets rookie overly nervous, though.
—Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 6 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nervous
Taylor Ardrey, USA Today, 8 Sep. 2025
There’s also a lovely waiting room exchange with a nervous older cancer patient (screen veteran Aurore Clément), full of fears and reassurances.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2025
Ken Griffin, like many others, is nervous about the precedent this sets.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 8 Sep. 2025
Not enough to make the Charlotte Hornets rookie overly nervous, though.
—Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 6 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nervous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nervous
Adjective
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Small business owners, who rely on social media to promote and sell their products, were especially worried with a busy festive season looming.—
Nir Kshetri,
The Conversation,
14 Sep. 2025
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Parents are worried not just about getting food on the table, but whether that food is good for their kids.—
Yasmin Tayag,
The Atlantic,
14 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Handing spending power to a piece of software makes people uneasy.—
Ron Schmelzer,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
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An uneasy calm, after two nights of chaos that saw tens of thousands of people pour out into the streets to vent their fury, setting fire to parliament and the Supreme Court – key symbols of state – and clashing with the government forces sent to keep them under control.—
Lex Harvey,
CNN Money,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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When pyramidal cells are too excitable, memory processing becomes noisy and disorganized.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
11 Sep. 2025
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Tony has fully bought into the dream, and Skarsgård plays him with excitable, boyish humor, almost as if the whole thing were a game.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Research in attachment theory tells us that people with anxious attachment tendencies often monitor signs of availability and care in their partners.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
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While all of his children enjoy supporting him at his fights, María is the one who gets the most anxious, according to Canelo.—
Nasha Smith,
PEOPLE,
13 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Following a tense summit in July hosted by Beijing, European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen said that leaders had agreed to an improved mechanism for Chinese exports of rare earth minerals to the bloc.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
17 Sep. 2025
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After an announcement trailer back in May, many were wondering whether this tense first-person action-horror game would disembark on the current-gen Xbox consoles as well.—
Fran Ruiz,
Space.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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During the trials, some participants experienced nausea and an upset stomach, but investigators found that dividing up the pills, instead of taking all four at once, and swallowing them with orange juice instead of water, helped relieve the symptoms.—
Megan McIntyre,
Allure,
16 Sep. 2025
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So don’t be overly upset Yankee fans.—
Tony Blengino,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Fortunately, there are straightforward ways to reduce your chances of being confronted with violent or disturbing videos.—
Annie Margaret,
CNN Money,
13 Sep. 2025
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Celebrating the assassination of a 31 year old father of two young kids is disturbing; that teachers would be among those who do so is completely unacceptable.—
Amy DeLaura,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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In the episode for which Howard is nominated, Matt is apprehensive to give feedback to the director that a scene from his new movie needs to be cut.—
Carson Blackwelder,
PEOPLE,
7 Sep. 2025
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Auggie appeared apprehensive at first and didn't quite know what to do with the bed.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nervous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nervous. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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