nervous

[nur-vuhs] / ˈnɜr vəs /

ADJECTIVE

anxious, fearful

Synonyms

STRONGEST

afraid agitated annoyed apprehensive concerned edgy fussy hesitant hysterical irritable jittery jumpy shaky shy skittish spooked tense timid uneasy uptight volatile weak

WEAK

basket case bothered distressed disturbed excitable fidgety fitful flustered high-strung nervy neurotic on edge overwrought querulous restive ruffled sensitive shrinking snappish solicitous taut timorous troubled twitchy unrestful unstrung upset wired worried

Antonyms

STRONGEST

bold brave calm certain collected composed confident cool easygoing extroverted fearless firm happy laid-back sufficient sure unafraid uncaring unwavering unworried

WEAK

unnervous

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

CATL’s neighbors-to-be are nervous about toxic waste, after revelations that Orban ignored reports of pollution from a Samsung SDI EV battery plant near Budapest.

From Barron's • Apr. 17, 2026

A gnarly debate at the center of modern AI research boils down to this: Can a system modeled on the human nervous system ever actually match a human’s abilities?

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

“I got nervous, but she was like, ‘after seeing this, I’m realizing that there’s something trying to convince me of that.’

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2026

In the Netflix film, Swan demonstrates with calipers on a life-size, anatomically correct male baby doll in a coffee shop to the nervous titters of the participants.

From Slate • Apr. 16, 2026

More often than not now, we found ourselves sharing whatever shelter we could find with other refugees, and often with dozens of retreating German soldiers too, which made us all very nervous.

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo

Vocabulary lists containing nervous

Emotions on Display

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"Seventh Grade" by Gary Soto

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Yikes! Synonyms for "Scared"

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