1
as in worried
feeling or showing uncomfortable feelings of uncertainty
he was nervous about how he would do at the varsity basketball tryouts
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in uneasy
marked by or causing agitation or uncomfortable feelings
a nervous silence filled the room as the teacher handed out the graded exams
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in excitable
easily excited by nature
a nervous sort of person, she's completely thrown by anything unexpected
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of nervous
Castañeda’s posts made her mother, Luisa, nervous, but Castañeda was convinced that Vente Venezuela would take power.
—
Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 10 May 2025
In 2022, another nervous dog gained viral attention after overcoming his fears to make new friends.
—Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 May 2025
Investors, already nervous about AI’s disruption of search, didn’t take the news lightly and wiped roughly $155 billion off Alphabet’s market cap.
—Catherine Baab, Quartz, 8 May 2025
Last to arrive is Jessie Stone, a sales director at Farrar, Straus, Giroux, his American publishers… who are nervous.
—David Benedict, Variety, 7 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for nervous
Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 10 May 2025
In 2022, another nervous dog gained viral attention after overcoming his fears to make new friends.
—Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 May 2025
Investors, already nervous about AI’s disruption of search, didn’t take the news lightly and wiped roughly $155 billion off Alphabet’s market cap.
—Catherine Baab, Quartz, 8 May 2025
Last to arrive is Jessie Stone, a sales director at Farrar, Straus, Giroux, his American publishers… who are nervous.
—David Benedict, Variety, 7 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for nervous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nervous
Adjective
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However, the bull case for the current market environment is that investors are now less worried about a U.S. recession and are swapping out defensive bond positions in hopes of finding upside appreciation in the stock market.—
Jesse Pound,
CNBC,
13 May 2025
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Nearly two-thirds (63%) are worried about global warming and 37% are not.—
Robert G. Eccles,
Forbes.com,
13 May 2025
Adjective
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These chewy ginger candies are her secret weapon for taming an uneasy stomach naturally.—
Rosie Marder,
Travel + Leisure,
9 May 2025
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The Wall Street firm predicted that international institutional investors could be rethinking their appetite and risk-reward in U.S. investments as the current uneasy macroenvironment keeps them on edge.—
Yun Li,
CNBC,
8 May 2025
Adjective
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The most reliably entertaining are the dryly sardonic Yelena Belova (Pugh) and the excitable, histrionic Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian (a showily outsized Harbour).—
Manohla Dargis,
New York Times,
1 May 2025
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Specifically, her plans to reform the taxation of capital gains have alarmed more than a few wealthy (and excitable) taxpayers.—
Joseph Thorndike,
Forbes,
4 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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This productivity decline stems from several factors: Workplace morale deteriorates Remaining employees absorb additional responsibilities Teams become anxious about future job security When employees question whether their leaders truly value them, their enthusiasm and dedication suffer.—
Caroline Castrillon,
Forbes.com,
11 May 2025
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Nobel laureates, such as MIT’s Daron Acemoglu, are worried about its capacity to worsen income inequalities, and ordinary American workers are anxious about AI’s impact on jobs.—
Bhaskar Chakravorti,
Harvard Business Review,
8 May 2025
Adjective
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Parents raising kids alongside friends told me about tense debates—such as whether to let kids play with toy guns and whether adults should leave alcohol out in common spaces—as well as routine disagreements about how to share caregiving duties and household space.—
Rhaina Cohen,
The Atlantic,
11 May 2025
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The arrival of a little orphan girl challenges their sense of solidarity in a tense social climate, revealing both their fragility and strength.—
Leo Barraclough,
Variety,
11 May 2025
Adjective
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Ruiz earned 7% of the vote, enough for Bill Brophy, Democrat Richard Alatorre’s Republican opponent, to pull off a stunning upset.—
Carlos De Loera,
Los Angeles Times,
8 May 2025
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While Pelkey may have spent his final moments upset, his AI likeness struck a conciliatory tone in court last week.—
Brian Niemietz,
New York Daily News,
8 May 2025
Adjective
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Proponents have long invoked civil rights language to promote vouchers, a disturbing rhetorical choice given vouchers originated as a tool for southern white parents to avoid the Supreme Court's desegregation order in Brown v. Board of Education.—
Kevin Sabet,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 May 2025
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Actress Isabella Rossellini reflects on the film’s disturbing material and autobiographical elements while resisting reductive interpretations.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
14 May 2025
Adjective
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From detractors and doubters to those apprehensive of the longevity of dancehall or Valiant’s versatility, the international star is set to level up significantly from his mixtape days.—
Kyle Denis,
Billboard,
1 May 2025
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Amazon’s analysts on Wall Street, meanwhile, are apprehensive about the company’s entrance into the market.—
Jackie Wattles,
CNN Money,
29 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nervous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nervous. Accessed 18 May. 2025.
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