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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3
as in excitable
easily excited by nature
a nervous sort of person, she's completely thrown by anything unexpected
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of nervous
Castañeda’s posts made her mother, Luisa, nervous, but Castañeda was convinced that Vente Venezuela would take power.
—
Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 10 May 2025
In 2022, another nervous dog gained viral attention after overcoming his fears to make new friends.
—Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 May 2025
Investors, already nervous about AI’s disruption of search, didn’t take the news lightly and wiped roughly $155 billion off Alphabet’s market cap.
—Catherine Baab, Quartz, 8 May 2025
Last to arrive is Jessie Stone, a sales director at Farrar, Straus, Giroux, his American publishers… who are nervous.
—David Benedict, Variety, 7 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for nervous
Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 10 May 2025
In 2022, another nervous dog gained viral attention after overcoming his fears to make new friends.
—Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 May 2025
Investors, already nervous about AI’s disruption of search, didn’t take the news lightly and wiped roughly $155 billion off Alphabet’s market cap.
—Catherine Baab, Quartz, 8 May 2025
Last to arrive is Jessie Stone, a sales director at Farrar, Straus, Giroux, his American publishers… who are nervous.
—David Benedict, Variety, 7 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for nervous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nervous
Adjective
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However, the bull case for the current market environment is that investors are now less worried about a U.S. recession and are swapping out defensive bond positions in hopes of finding upside appreciation in the stock market.—
Jesse Pound,
CNBC,
13 May 2025
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Nearly two-thirds (63%) are worried about global warming and 37% are not.—
Robert G. Eccles,
Forbes.com,
13 May 2025
Adjective
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Today, hydrogen bombs have replaced atom bombs in most arsenals, creating a world of uneasy standoffs among nuclear foes.—
William J. Broad,
New York Times,
19 May 2025
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But the vote was not unanimous and left Councilman Kevin O’Neill feeling uneasy.—
Mike Hendricks,
Kansas City Star,
16 May 2025
Adjective
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Groups of excitable teenage boys waited their turn to play EA FC on a bank of massive flat screen TVs.—
James Montague,
New York Times,
18 May 2025
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Wisner was an excitable workaholic, like a squirrel pointlessly leaping in all directions.—
Bruce Fein,
Baltimore Sun,
15 May 2025
Adjective
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In the novel’s historical re-creation, is there an anxious note to Americans now losing themselves in accommodation?—
David Denby,
New Yorker,
23 May 2025
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An inaccurate diagnosis might lead to unnecessary or risky treatment, and a false positive can cause stress by requiring additional tests and anxious waits for results.—
Max Votek,
Forbes.com,
22 May 2025
Adjective
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Denzel Washington confronts photographer in tense moment at Cannes Film Festival Watson did not scrimp in the glamour department for her 2013 Cannes debut either.—
Edward Segarra,
USA Today,
23 May 2025
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The posts tee up a potentially tense exchange between U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and his European counterpart later Friday morning.—
Kevin Breuninger,
CNBC,
23 May 2025
Adjective
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Santa Margarita 6, Huntington Beach 5: Chase Marlow singled in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning to give the Eagles an upset over Sunset League champion Huntington Beach.—
Eric Sondheimer,
Los Angeles Times,
21 May 2025
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This was from Chris Haynes, reporting that Michael Beasley (yes, that Michael Beasley) is upset that the expansion Miami Big 3 team drafted Lance Stephenson (yes, that Lance Stephenson), and is contemplating requesting a trade.—
Zach Harper,
New York Times,
20 May 2025
Adjective
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Proponents have long invoked civil rights language to promote vouchers, a disturbing rhetorical choice given vouchers originated as a tool for southern white parents to avoid the Supreme Court's desegregation order in Brown v. Board of Education.—
Kevin Sabet,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 May 2025
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Actress Isabella Rossellini reflects on the film’s disturbing material and autobiographical elements while resisting reductive interpretations.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
14 May 2025
Adjective
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However, those apprehensive about near-term volatility should contemplate suitable strategies, such as the Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio strategy, featuring a selection of 30 stocks, that has a history of comfortably outperforming the S&P 500 over the previous four-year span.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
16 May 2025
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Tammy, 38, was apprehensive about her younger sister's quick engagement.—
Ashlyn Robinette,
People.com,
14 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nervous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nervous. Accessed 27 May. 2025.
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