jumpy
[ juhm-pee ]
/ ˈdʒʌm pi /
adjective, jump·i·er, jump·i·est.
subject to sudden, involuntary starts, especially from nervousness, fear, excitement, etc.
characterized by sudden starts, jerks, or jumps: a jumpy narrative.
RELATED CONTENT
Foxy, Catty, Fishy: Are These Traits For Animals Or Humans?Catty It seems horribly unfair to adorable cats that catty is a human descriptor meaning “devious or spiteful” (and usually in reference to female behavior). What gives? The word cat has been around since the year 700. But then, in the Middle Ages, cat became one of the many offensive terms against women and was slang for “prostitute.” The association might have been made because …
RELATED WORDS
restless, frisky, fidgety, shaky, apprehensive, creepy, excitable, high-strung, jittery, skittish, spooked, agitated, antsy, anxious, excited, sensitive, tense, timorous, unrestful
Nearby words
- jumping-off place or point,
- jumpmaster,
- jumprock,
- jumpstart,
- jumpsuit,
- jun,
- jun.,
- junagadh,
- junc.,
- juncaceous
Origin of jumpy
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for jumpy
jumpy
/ (ˈdʒʌmpɪ) /
adjective jumpier or jumpiest
nervous or apprehensive
moving jerkily or fitfully
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
jumpy
"nervous," 1869, from jump (n.) + -y (2). Related: Jumpiness.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper