View synonyms for nail-biting

nail-biting

[ neyl-bahy-ting ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

the act or practice of biting one's fingernails, especially as the result of anxiety or nervousness.
Informal. nervousness:
The announcement that the trade agreement had been signed ended a week of nail-biting on Wall Street.

Informal. causing nervousness:
The nail-biting part of the canoe trip was through the stretches of white water.

nail-biting

First recorded in 1890–95

It was all the nail biting stuff of keeping up all night working.

Another Sunday, another nail-biting episode of Breaking Bad.

During the nail-biting 2008 Democratic presidential primary, Obama was in it to win it.

There are moments of exultation and frustration, of nail-biting anxiety, and the normal banter that characterizes any workplace.

A sports movie and a redemption story and a drug movie and a nail-biting tale of success!

Certain other childish habits, such as nail-biting, have also been described as sexual manifestations.

Nail biting is an unsightly habit, one that may even hinder one's social acceptance.

When are nail-biting and dirt-eating seen, and how are they to be controlled?

April 19, 2024tortuous

[tawr-choo-uhs ]

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