English Dictionary
Definition of “nervous”
nervous (ˈnɜːvəs
)
Definitions
adjective
- very excitable or sensitive; highly strung
- (often foll by of) apprehensive or worried ⇒
I'm nervous of traffic
- of, relating to, or containing nerves; neural ⇒
nervous tissue
- affecting the nerves or nervous tissue ⇒
a nervous disease
- archaic active, vigorous, or forceful
Alternative Forms
ˈnervously adverb ˈnervousness noun
Synonyms
View thesaurus entry
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apprehensive,
anxious,
uneasy,
edgy,
worried,
wired,
tense,
fearful,
shaky,
hysterical,
neurotic,
agitated,
ruffled,
timid,
hyper,
jittery,
uptight,
flustered,
on edge,
excitable,
nervy,
jumpy,
twitchy,
fidgety,
timorous,
highly strung,
antsy,
toey,
hesitant,
adrenalized,
Translations
- British English:
nervous
If you are nervous, you are worried and frightened, and show this in your behaviour.It has made me nervous about going out.ˈnɜːvəs ADJECTIVE It has made me nervous about going out.
- Spanish:
nervioso
adj nerviosa
- French:
nerveux
adj
- German:
nervös
adj
- Chinese: 神经紧张的 adj
- Arabic: عَصَبِيُّ الْـمَزَاجِ adj
- Portuguese: nervoso adj nervosa
- Russian: нервный adj нервная
- Croatian: nervozan adj nervozna
- Czech: nervózní adj
- Danish: nervøs adj
- Dutch: nerveus adj
- Finnish: hermostunut adj
- Greek: νευρικός adj νευρική
- Italian: nervoso adj nervosa
- Japanese: 神経質な no_posp
- Korean: 신경질적인 adj
- Norwegian: nervøs adj
- Polish: nerwowy adj nerwowa
- Brazilian Portuguese: nervoso adj nervosa
- European Spanish:
nervioso
adj nerviosa
- Swedish: nervös adj nervöst
- Thai: กระวนกระวาย adj
- Turkish: sinirli adj
- Vietnamese: lo lắng adj
Usage examples
A somewhat nervous bay mare followed behind, constrained by a leading rein from giving in to her neuroses.
Garth Nix, LIRAEL: DAUGHTER OF THE CLAYR (2001)It may sound like strange advice if you are nervous when racing, but the best place to be is at the front.
Cycling Weekly (2005)"The guys were a little nervous ," captain Shawn McEachern said.
Globe and Mail (2003)Slight, delicate almost, Anne exudes an enormous amount of nervous energy.
Glasgow Herald (2001)For me the break-up with Jane began a process that ended three years later with me suffering a nervous breakdown.
Dorothy Rowe, BEYOND FEAR (2002)
