1
as in worried
feeling or showing uncomfortable feelings of uncertainty
he was nervous about how he would do at the varsity basketball tryouts
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 the past, contestants have admitted to experiencing a wide range of emotions in this particularly vulnerable moment: overwhelmed, nervous, paralyzed, and yeah, even terrified.
—
Frederick Dreier, Outside Online, 13 June 2025
Ordinarily, nervous traders would seek shelter in U.S. government bonds, pushing bond prices up and yields down.
—Scott Horsley, NPR, 13 June 2025
Daniel Byman: Trump is making Netanyahu nervous But leaders and peoples—in Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Damascus, Beirut—have grown tired of wars around religion and ideology, and many are ready to pursue development instead.
—Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 12 June 2025
The video highlighted how visibly nervous Jessie was while using jokes to get through the show.
—Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 6 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for nervous
Frederick Dreier, Outside Online, 13 June 2025
Ordinarily, nervous traders would seek shelter in U.S. government bonds, pushing bond prices up and yields down.
—Scott Horsley, NPR, 13 June 2025
Daniel Byman: Trump is making Netanyahu nervous But leaders and peoples—in Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Damascus, Beirut—have grown tired of wars around religion and ideology, and many are ready to pursue development instead.
—Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 12 June 2025
The video highlighted how visibly nervous Jessie was while using jokes to get through the show.
—Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 6 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for nervous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nervous
Adjective
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That’s why, when federal immigration agents rolled into the berry fields of Oxnard last week and detained 40 farmworkers, growers up and down the state grew worried along with their workers.—
Jessica Garrison,
Los Angeles Times,
18 June 2025
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This is perhaps the most important reason everyone should be so worried about the Republicans’ Big Beautiful Bill.—
Paul Weinstein Jr,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2025
Adjective
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Edan Lui of Hong Kong boy band Mirror will also make his Korean drama debut in the new season, joining the cast in a role that pairs him in an uneasy alliance with Kim Do-gi.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
25 June 2025
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Repeatedly returning to themes of globalization and alienation, the 55-year-old director has meticulously chronicled his country’s uneasy plunge into the 21st century as rampant industrialization risks deadening those left behind.—
Tim Grierson,
Los Angeles Times,
20 June 2025
Adjective
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In 2023 and the first months of 2024, his name cropped up in a lot of excitable articles in the Rio de Janeiro press.—
Jack Lang,
New York Times,
27 June 2025
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The telling of the entire story of America, after all, calls into question the greatness that Donald Trump pledges to restore, and agitates a base that remains threatened and excitable by our multicultural reality.—
Kevin Sack,
Time,
3 June 2025
Adjective
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One in every three young adults aged 18-25 reports feeling anxious or lonely.—
Ann Kowal Smith,
Forbes.com,
17 June 2025
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Perfectionist tendencies may cause an anxious person to limit their food intake, choose to eat only a limited range of foods, or exercise in excess.—
Brittany Dube,
Health,
17 June 2025
Adjective
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Over the past few weeks, Bieber has found himself at the center of increasingly tense run-ins with paparazzi.—
Larisha Paul,
Rolling Stone,
16 June 2025
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Their only hope is to get to a nearby island, a situation made harder – and much more tense – by a clever great white, noteworthy for being a real shark rather than a CGI one like most films use.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
16 June 2025
Adjective
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The heated encounter occurred outside a building, as Hannah-Kim appeared visibly upset about the situation and wanted an explanation for Kove’s actions.—
Stephanie Giang-Paunon,
FOXNews.com,
26 June 2025
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In what many pundits considered an upset, Tordillos eventually overcame a slight deficit on election night to overtake Matthew Quevedo, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan’s deputy chief of staff, by six votes.—
Devan Patel,
Mercury News,
25 June 2025
Adjective
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Content moderators are workers who remove disturbing content from social media—data which is often then used to train AI systems like ChatGPT or Facebook’s algorithms.—
Billy Perrigo,
Time,
19 June 2025
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These stories reveal a disturbing truth: AI can automate and amplify existing biases, leading to real-world injustice.—
Sajal Singh,
Forbes.com,
17 June 2025
Adjective
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Some were apprehensive about living far from their longtime partner in crime.—
Philip Marcelo,
Los Angeles Times,
20 June 2025
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Many in the village are excited for the apprehensive Spike, as this is a rite of passage, but Jamie is reminded by a woman at the gate on their way out that 14 or 15 is the typical age for this experience.—
Mark Meszoros,
Boston Herald,
19 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nervous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nervous. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
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