nervous
English · Thesaurus
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nervous
- /ˈnɜːvəs/ UK
- /ˈnəːvəs/ British, Southern, Standard
- /ˈnɛɾvəs/ Scotland, UK
- /ˈnøːvəs/ UK, Wales
- /ˈneːvəs/ UK
- /ˈnɛːvəs/ UK
- /ˈnɝvəs/ Canada, US
- /ˈnɜːvəs/ Australia
- /ˈnøːvəs/ New Zealand
- /ˈnɑvəs/ New England, obsolete
Where it comes from
From Middle English nervous (“composed of or incorporating nerves”), from Latin nervōsus (“nervous; sinewy; energetic, vigorous”), from nervus (“nerve; muscle; sinew, tendon; (figuratively) energy, power; nerve; force, strength, vigour”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *snéh₁wr̥ (“sinew, tendon”)) + -ōsus (suffix meaning ‘full of, prone to’ forming adjectives from nouns). The English word is analysable as nerve + -ous.
adjective more nervous · nervouser · most nervous · nervousest
- Full of sinews.
- Having strong or prominent sinews; sinewy, muscular. [T]here is nothing in marble equal to the Venus of Medici, for ſoftneſs and tenderneſs; as there is nothing ſo ſtrong and nervous, as the Hercules Farneſe.
- Of a piece of writing, literary style etc.: forceful, powerful. Fortescutus illustratus, or a commentary on that nervous treatise De Laudibus Legum Angliæ […] [book title]
- Supplied with nerves; innervated.
- Affecting or involving the nerves or nervous system. All Nervous Diſtempers whatſoever, from Yawning and Stretching, up to a mortal Fit of an Apoplexy, ſeems to me to be but one continued Diſorder, or the ſeveral Steps or Degrees of it, ariſing from a Relaxation or Weakneſs, and the want of a ſufficient Force and Elaſticity in the Solids in general, a
- Nervose. CANNACORUS, […] It hath a knobbed tuberoſe Root: The Leaves are long and nervous: […]
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Easily agitated or alarmed; edgy, on edge.
Being in a crowd of strangers makes me nervous.
Similar: excitable, high-strung, hypersensitive
- Apprehensive, anxious, hesitant, worried. They were looking at the table (which was spread out in great array); for these young housekeepers are always nervous on such points, and like to see that everything is right.
Similar: angstful, apprehensive, anxious, careful, concerned, distraught, disturbed, edgy, fraught, freaked out, hagridden, high-strung, jittery, jumpy, leery, nervous, nervy, on edge, perturbable, restless, skittish, spookish, squeamish, tied in knots, twitchy, uneasy, unquiet, verklempt, worried, worrisome · Opposite: calm, intrepid, unperturbed, unworried
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: neural, aflutter, jittery, jumpy, overstrung, high-strung, nervy, spooky, edgy, excitable, excited, anxious, skittish, troubled, restive, unquiet
adjective
Similar: angstful, apprehensive, anxious, careful, concerned, distraught, disturbed, edgy, fraught, freaked out, hagridden, high-strung, jittery, jumpy, leery, nervous, nervy, on edge, perturbable, restless, skittish, spookish, squeamish, tied in knots, twitchy, uneasy, unquiet, verklempt, worried, worrisome · Opposite: calm, intrepid, unperturbed, unworried
Translations
Every language
adj relating to the nerves
| Español | nervioso |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 神経の shinkei no |
| हिन्दी | तंत्रिकीय tantrikīya |
| Português | nervoso |
| Français | nerveux |
| Italiano | nervoso |
| Română | nervos |
| Русский | не́рвный nérvnyj |
Talk about this word "nervous." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/nervous. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. nervous. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/nervous "nervous." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/nervous.Cite this
@misc{nervous_2026,
title = {nervous},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/nervous},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
