nervousness

American

[nur-vuhs-nis] / ˈnɜr vəs nɪs /

noun

the state or condition of being highly, acutely, or unnaturally uneasy or excitable.

There is always an element of nervousness or stage fright in public speaking.
High levels of thyroid hormones can cause side effects such as weight loss, rapid heart rate, and nervousness.

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of nervousness

nervous ( def. ) + -ness ( def. )

Explanation

Nervousness is a quality of feeling anxious, worried, or alarmed. Your nervousness about flying in an airplane for the first time shouldn't keep you from fulfilling your dream of traveling to Iceland! Nervousness takes many forms. What's thrilling to one person —skydiving, public speaking, hosting a party — makes others feel nervous down to their bones. Your dog's nervousness around loud city traffic might finally convince you to move to the country, while your brother might end up outgrowing his nervousness around animals and wind up becoming a vet someday. Nervousness can involve sweating and trembling, or it can be invisible to observers.

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

nervousness

Anthropic's listing, expected as early as next week, comes amid growing nervousness among investors about the huge sums being poured into AI.

From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026

Another source said there was "a great deal of nervousness" at the Paris police headquarters and security agencies.

From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026

This means it would also be a time of nervousness for delegates as they look around the room with its "empty chairs" following the scale of recent purges within the Party.

From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026