nerve-racking

Or nerve-wrack·ing

[nurv-rak-ing]

adjective

1. extremely irritating, annoying, or trying.

   a nerve-racking day; a nerve-racking noise.

nerve-racking

adjective

1. very distressing, exhausting, or harrowing

Word History and Origins

Origin of nerve-racking¹

First recorded in 1805–15

Example Sentences

Harmonizing for Plant, is “one of the most nerve-racking and evidentially vulnerable parts of anything that I’ve ever done,” he admits.

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His silence was nerve-racking, for no one knew whether to prepare for an explosion or a celebration.

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It was really nerve-racking and really exciting all at once.

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It will be a nerve-racking week for investors.

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But staying out of trouble does not protect residents from nerve-racking police encounters.

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Related Words

• annoying 
• stressful 
• trying