as in anxiety
an uneasy state of mind usually over the possibility of an anticipated misfortune or trouble
your nervousness over your son's safety is only natural
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Recent Examples of nervousness
Financial markets were still showing some signs of nervousness on Thursday.
—
Stan Choe, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2026
Then, while Williams was stoic, Storrie feigned nervousness about presenting, contorting himself into knots.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 13 Jan. 2026
Hawke gives me a Harrison Ford-length pause — not out of nervousness, but genuine thought.
—David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 13 Jan. 2026
Running out of battery mid-flight means missing entertainment and the chance to use apps that help manage nervousness or track turbulence.
—Alesandra Dubin, Travel + Leisure, 9 Jan. 2026
Estrogen was presented as an elixir that helped not only hot flashes, but also nervousness, fatigue, depression, and restless nights for almost every aging woman.
—Patricia Bencivenga, STAT, 8 Jan. 2026
There's this sort of excitement and nervousness, particularly for the filmmakers.
—Rebecca Ford, Vanity Fair, 6 Jan. 2026
Throughout her pregnancy, McCain spoke about her nervousness over becoming a boy mom, not to mention taking the leap from two children to three.
—Sarah Scott, Parents, 5 Jan. 2026
Every article predicting the collapse of the NASDAQ increases investor nervousness, which leads to another article about the collapse of the NASDAQ, and so the world turns ad infinitum.
—Oscar Täckström, Fortune, 3 Jan. 2026
Stan Choe, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2026
Then, while Williams was stoic, Storrie feigned nervousness about presenting, contorting himself into knots.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 13 Jan. 2026
Hawke gives me a Harrison Ford-length pause — not out of nervousness, but genuine thought.
—David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 13 Jan. 2026
Running out of battery mid-flight means missing entertainment and the chance to use apps that help manage nervousness or track turbulence.
—Alesandra Dubin, Travel + Leisure, 9 Jan. 2026
Estrogen was presented as an elixir that helped not only hot flashes, but also nervousness, fatigue, depression, and restless nights for almost every aging woman.
—Patricia Bencivenga, STAT, 8 Jan. 2026
There's this sort of excitement and nervousness, particularly for the filmmakers.
—Rebecca Ford, Vanity Fair, 6 Jan. 2026
Throughout her pregnancy, McCain spoke about her nervousness over becoming a boy mom, not to mention taking the leap from two children to three.
—Sarah Scott, Parents, 5 Jan. 2026
Every article predicting the collapse of the NASDAQ increases investor nervousness, which leads to another article about the collapse of the NASDAQ, and so the world turns ad infinitum.
—Oscar Täckström, Fortune, 3 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nervousness
Noun
-
Somehow, this new sensation emitted an awareness of the magnitude in which skateboarding would warp my life, which only ratcheted up the anxiety of blowing it.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 Jan. 2026
-
The news this week that an ICE agent had shot and killed a woman in Minnesota heightened his anxiety.—
Andrea Castillo,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The construction plans have generally raised fears that the London complex could serve as a Beijing intelligence hub.—
Bonny Chu,
FOXNews.com,
14 Jan. 2026
-
Several Venezuela residents told TIME that the fear of what might be discovered on their phone at a checkpoint has guided their behavior in the days since Maduro's ouster.—
Brian Bennett,
Time,
13 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Apple has been caught in the fray on worries that a tight memory cycle will eat into hardware gross margins, given that products such as iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches and Macs heavily use DRAM and NAND flash memory.—
Pia Singh,
CNBC,
29 Jan. 2026
-
There are significant worries that AI can readily go off the rails or otherwise dispense unsuitable or even egregiously inappropriate mental health advice.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
So having another person in her space was always a little surprising, even if the curator, gazing at her with his usual mix of mild reproach and gauzy concern, seemed not abundantly different from the empty chair.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
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While health has always been a personal concern, now there are more ways for leadership to support these habits through intentional programming.—
Serenity Gibbons,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Some of these investors are looking to ride the latest upward price trend and others are reacting to inflation concerns, economic uncertainties or broader market unease.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
29 Jan. 2026
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Niazi’s writing about her career moves also shows some unease with the personal.—
Lily Meyer,
The Atlantic,
29 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Nervousness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nervousness. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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