nervous
[ nur-vuhs ]
/ ˈnɜr vəs /
adjective
RELATED CONTENT
RELATED WORDS
shaky, apprehensive, irritable, afraid, concerned, volatile, agitated, hysterical, jumpy, weak, uneasy, uptight, tense, timid, hesitant, skittish, shy, edgy, jittery, annoyed
Nearby words
- nervine,
- nerving,
- nervon,
- nervonic acid,
- nervosity,
- nervous bladder,
- nervous breakdown,
- nervous exhaustion,
- nervous indigestion,
- nervous lobe
Origin of nervous
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for nervous
nervous
/ (ˈnɜːvəs) /
adjective
very excitable or sensitive; highly strung
(often foll by of) apprehensive or worriedI'm nervous of traffic
of, relating to, or containing nerves; neuralnervous tissue
affecting the nerves or nervous tissuea nervous disease
archaic active, vigorous, or forceful
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
nervous
c.1400, "affecting the sinews," from Latin nervosus "sinewy, vigorous," from nervus "sinew, nerve" (see nerve). Meaning "of or belonging to the nerves" in the modern sense is from 1660s. Meaning "suffering disorder of the nervous system" is from 1734; illogical sense "restless, agitated, lacking nerve" is 1740. Widespread popular use as a euphemism for mental forced the medical community to coin neurological to replace it in the older sense. Nervous wreck first attested 1862. Related: Nervously; nervousness.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
nervous
[ nûr′vəs ]
adj.
Of or relating to the nerves or nervous system.
Stemming from or affecting the nerves or nervous system, as a disease.
Easily agitated or distressed.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
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