jittery

[jit-uh-ree]

adjective

jitterier, jitteriest 

1. extremely tense and nervous; jumpy.

   He's very jittery about the medical checkup.

jittery

/ ˈdʒɪtərɪ /

adjective

1. informal,  nervous and anxious

Other Word Forms

• jitteriness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of jittery¹

An Americanism dating back to 1930–35; jitter + -y ¹

Example Sentences

"I'm awake, but I'm not jittery," she says of the drink.

Read more on BBC

Investors are also increasingly jittery about how tech giants are using large and complex debt deals to finance the infrastructure build-out.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But now the market is getting more jittery about fellow tech giants’ rampant data-center spending, which has in some cases prompted debt financing despite uncertainties around the returns on these investments.

Read more on MarketWatch

“Lacking fresh economic data, markets have become increasingly jittery in recent weeks,” says Seema Shah of Principal Asset Management.

Read more on Barron's

The stock market was jittery about AI froth.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• anxious 
• apprehensive 
• edgy 
• excitable 
• fidgety 
• jumpy 
• panicky www.thesaurus.com
• restless 
• shaky 
• skittish 
• spooked www.thesaurus.com
• tense 
• uneasy 
• uptight