jittery
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of jittery
Explanation
Jittery can describe jerky or nervous actions. If you consume a lot of caffeine, you might appear jittery. If a running back is darting around quickly and unpredictably, making herky-jerky movements, he's jittery. Also, jittery applies to people who feel nervous or tense. If you're worried about a test, you'll feel jittery. During the last minute of a basketball game, some players get jittery. Synonyms for this nervous kind of jittery are edgy, high-strung, jumpy, nervy, and uptight.
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.
Jittery Angelenos sat in the dark, rattled by sounds of sirens and antiaircraft fire.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026
Jittery investors will be watching the Bureau of Labor Statistics report closely for signs that wage growth, a key inflation indicator, is stabilizing.
From New York Times • Mar. 10, 2023
Jittery traders in Asia sent Alibaba shares and bonds plunging after a media report that authorities in Hangzhou had placed curbs on a person surnamed Ma.
From Reuters • May 3, 2022
Jittery markets in the US have seen three consecutive weeks of declines.
From BBC • Jan. 26, 2022
Jittery and nervous, Thomas picked up one page from each pile, making sure they were all from the same day, keeping them in order.
From "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
