antsy

[ant-see]

adjective

Informal.

antsier, antsiest 

1. unable to sit or stand still; fidgety.

   The children were bored and antsy.

2. apprehensive, uneasy, or nervous.

   I'm a little antsy since hearing those storm warnings.

antsy

/ ˈæntsɪ /

adjective

1. informal,  restless, nervous, and impatient

Other Word Forms

• antsiness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of antsy¹

1950–55; ant + -s ³ + -y ¹; -sy

Example Sentences

Major reactions to relatively minor events show that shareholders are getting antsy as AI investment grows with little measurable return behind it.

Read more on Barron's

My phone is rarely out of reach, and when it is, I grow antsy and restless.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But I remember when I realized I really had it bad was when an ex-girlfriend told me, “Before shows, you get really antsy. You have this energy that’s scattered and you walk around really tense.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Director James Gunn’s antsy reboot skips past the origin story of infant Kal-El slamming into Kansas in an escape pod from Krypton.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Investors got antsy again, and the growing pressure led a group of pension fund leaders to write to the Tesla board, demanding that they force Musk to return to work.

Read more on Salon