INDEX:
1. nervous
2. to be nervous
3. someone who is often or always nervous
4. a feeling of being nervous
5. a situation in which people feel nervous
6. to make someone feel nervous
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ WORRIED/WORRYING
↑ FRIGHTENED/FRIGHTENING
↑ SHY
↑ CLUMSY
↑ CONFIDENT/NOT CONFIDENT
↑ EMBARRASSED/EMBARRASSING
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1. nervous
▷ nervous /ˈnɜːʳvəs/ [adjective]
▪ Bill looked nervous, and I could see his hands were shaking.
nervous about
▪ Kelli was so nervous about her exam that she couldn’t sleep.
▪ I’m a little nervous about leaving the kids at home all alone.
▪ Many investors are nervous about their investments after the recent drop in the stock market.
make somebody nervous
▪ It makes me nervous when you drive that fast.
nervously [adverb]
▪ He was pacing nervously up and down the room.
nervousness [uncountable noun]
▪ She tried to hide her nervousness, but it was clear she wasn’t comfortable making the speech.
▷ tense /tens/ [adjective]
so worried about something that you cannot relax, and you easily get angry or upset :
▪ I always feel tense after driving all day.
▪ Mary’s problems at work were making her tense and irritable.
▪ You seem awfully tense - why don’t you have a drink and try to relax?
tensely [adverb]
▪ Everyone waited tensely for the winner’s name to be announced.
▷ jumpy/jittery /ˈdʒʌmpi, ˈdʒɪtəri/ [adjective]
very nervous so that you are unable to relax and are easily surprised by sudden sounds or movements :
▪ The dogs are jumpy tonight - I wonder if there’s something outside.
▪ She was getting jumpy thinking about the trip.
▪ I was feeling extremely jittery - all I wanted was to leave the bar as quickly as possible.
▪ Investors are jittery due to uncertainty about interest rates.
▷ on edge /ɒn ˈedʒ/ [adjective phrase]
if someone is on edge or if their nerves are on edge, they are nervous and likely to become angry or upset very easily :
▪ Jerry had had a hard day and his nerves were on edge.
▪ As reports of robberies continued to appear in the press, the whole community was increasingly on edge.
▷ uneasy /ʌnˈiːzi/ [adjective]
nervous that something bad might happen, so that you feel anxious and unable to relax until the danger has passed :
▪ There’s something I don’t trust about him. He makes me feel very uneasy.
▪ It was the same uneasy feeling he’d experienced that morning when he saw the police car outside.
uneasy about
▪ Rebecca was already beginning to feel uneasy about accepting the stranger’s offer of a ride.
uneasily [adverb]
▪ Boyd glanced around uneasily. ‘Do you think anyone is watching us?’
uneasiness [uncountable noun]
▪ She looked at the clock with growing uneasiness - he was already two hours late.
▷ panicky /ˈpænɪki/ [adjective]
very nervous and anxious about something, especially when you are in a dangerous situation that you cannot control or change :
▪ I began to feel panicky, sure that I was going to miss the train.
▪ ‘Is he really dead?’ Abe asked in a panicky voice.
▪ After waiting for him for two hours, Lorna got panicky and called the police.
2. to be nervous
▷ have butterflies /hæv ˈbʌtəʳflaɪz/ [verb phrase not in progressive] informal
to feel nervous about doing something that you are going to do very soon because it is important and you want to do it well :
▪ Some actors never have butterflies before going on stage.
have butterflies in your stomach
▪ It was the morning of the World Cup Final and most of the players had butterflies in their stomachs.
▷ be a nervous wreck /biː ə ˌnɜːʳvəs ˈrek/ [countable noun]
if someone is a nervous wreck, they have been made so nervous that they have completely lost all their confidence and their ability to remain calm or think sensibly :
▪ Before the plane took off she was a nervous wreck - she had to be strapped into her seat.
▪ Even though I’d been practicing for months, by the day of the competition I was a nervous wreck.
▷ be a bundle of nerves /biː ə ˌbʌndl əv ˈnɜːʳvz/ [verb phrase] informal
to be so nervous that you are shaking and you find it impossible to behave calmly, especially for a long time :
▪ Since she lost her job Rosie’s been a bundle of nerves.
▪ Harry was a bundle of nerves the whole time his wife was in the hospital.
3. someone who is often or always nervous
▷ nervous /ˈnɜːʳvəs/ [adjective only before noun]
someone who is often or always worried and frightened that something unpleasant may happen :
▪ She’s such a nervous child we don’t like to leave her on her own.
▪ Mr Darby was a mild, nervous man who seemed to expect people to ignore him.
▷ highly-strung British /high-strung American /ˌhaɪli ˈstrʌŋ◂, ˌhaɪ ˈstrʌŋ◂/ [adjective]
always nervous and unable to relax, especially so that you react in a very extreme way to ordinary situations :
▪ Mark’s a little high-strung, so go easy on him.
▪ Her main problem is that she is very highly-strung which tends to make other people feel nervous too.
▷ uptight /ʌpˈtaɪt/ [adjective] informal
unable to be relaxed about life in general, so that this makes you seem unfriendly and unhappy :
▪ He tries to be kind, but he always seems a little uptight.
▪ She’s one of those narrow-minded, uptight people who think that for a work of art to be great it can’t be pleasurable.
4. a feeling of being nervous
▷ nerves /nɜːʳvz/ [plural noun]
the feeling of being nervous because you are worried or a little frightened about something, especially if this feeling is likely to affect your behaviour or performance :
▪ Normally she’s very relaxed and amusing. It must be nerves.
a case/attack of nerves
▪ She had a sudden attack of nerves and refused to go to see the dentist.
calm/steady etc your nerves
try to relax
▪ Arnie had a drink before the meeting to steady his nerves.
suffer from nerves
British
▪ Although a competent teacher, he suffers from nerves when the students behave badly.
▷ tension /ˈtenʃ ə n/ [uncountable noun]
a feeling of being nervous and unable to relax, especially before something is about to happen :
▪ Her voice trembled with tension.
tension is high
people feel very nervous
▪ The tension was high in Mexico as the day of the decision approached.
tension mounts
people feel more and more nervous
▪ A crowd gathered and tension mounted till the riot broke out.
5. a situation in which people feel nervous
▷ tense /tens/ [adjective]
a tense situation makes people feel nervous and anxious, especially because they are worried about what might happen next or what someone might do :
▪ There was a tense silence, and then everyone began to laugh.
▪ The negotiations became increasingly tense as the weeks went by.
▪ The journey through the mountains went well even though there were a few tense moments when the car skidded.
▪ When someone mentioned Andy’s time in prison, the atmosphere grew tense.
▷ strained /streɪnd/ [adjective]
a situation that is strained makes people feel nervous, embarrassed, and uncomfortable, and unable to behave naturally :
▪ After the argument there was a strained silence.
▪ Since my father’s affair things have been very strained between him and my mother.
▪ The strained atmosphere at the dinner made it difficult to chat with people.
▷ uneasy /ʌnˈiːzi/ [adjective only before noun]
a situation that is uneasy makes people feel a little nervous because they are uncertain about what will happen next or what someone might do :
▪ After the speech there was an uneasy silence and nobody clapped.
▪ Since the two sides declared a ceasefire, there has been an uneasy calm throughout the region.
▷ unsettling /ʌnˈsetlɪŋ/ [adjective]
an unsettling situation makes you feel slightly nervous and unable to relax or concentrate completely :
▪ The weather forecast was unsettling - we had nowhere to go if a really big storm hit.
▪ Greenspan delivered more unsettling news about the economy the next day.
▷ nailbiting /ˈneɪlbaɪtɪŋ/ [adjective only before noun]
a nailbiting situation is so exciting that it makes you nervous, especially because you are waiting for a result or decision :
▪ Waiting to become a father is one of the most nailbiting situations a man can face.
nailbiting finish
▪ With three minutes left, the World Cup Final is set for a nailbiting finish.
▷ nerve-wracking /ˈnɜːʳv ˌrækɪŋ/ [adjective]
a nerve-wracking situation makes you feel very nervous because it is difficult or frightening :
▪ Your first appearance on stage is always a nerve-wracking experience
▪ Trying to keep track of all those little kids at the same time must be pretty nerve-wracking.
▷ charged /tʃɑːʳdʒd/ [adjective usually before noun]
a charged situation or subject makes people feel very nervous and is likely to cause arguments or violence :
▪ Abortion is still a very emotionally charged issue in the U.S.
highly charged
▪ In a highly charged press conference, Armstrong defended his attack on the children.
charged atmosphere
▪ The already charged atmosphere erupted into violence when police told the crowd to disperse.
6. to make someone feel nervous
▷ make somebody nervous /ˌmeɪk somebody ˈnɜːʳvəs/ [verb phrase]
▪ Have you seen the way he looks at people? He makes me nervous.
▪ Don’t watch me while I’m typing - it makes me really nervous.
▪ Thunder and lightning always make the horses nervous.
▷ unsettle /ʌnˈsetl/ [transitive verb]
if something unsettles you, it makes you feel slightly nervous and unable to relax or concentrate completely :
▪ Ted’s angry outbursts unsettled the whole family.
▪ The threat of war has been enough to unsettle international oil traders.
▪ She was still recovering from the accident so he avoided any subjects which might unsettle her.
▷ unnerve /ˌʌnˈnɜːʳv/ [transitive verb]
to make someone very nervous, especially by shocking or surprising them :
▪ Moore had been extremely unnerved by the FBI’s visit.
▪ The daily news stories of the worsening economy unnerved the nation.
unnerving [adjective]
▪ a bizarre and unnerving crime
▷ psych out /ˌsaɪk ˈaʊt/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to try to make someone, especially someone you are competing against in a game, lose their confidence and their ability to remain calm :
psych out somebody
▪ McEnroe often used his bad behaviour in difficult tennis matches to psych out his opponent.
psych somebody out
▪ Whenever we play chess Bill tries to psych me out by smirking every time I make a move.
▷ put somebody on edge /ˌpʊt somebody ɒn ˈedʒ/ [verb phrase]
to make someone feel very nervous so that they cannot relax :
▪ Trying to keep the plan a secret put us all on edge.
▪ Layoffs and work upheavals have put many employees on edge, both at work and at home.