NERVOUS: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for NERVOUS?

Need another word that means the same as “nervous”? Find 43 synonyms and 30 related words for “nervous” in this overview.

The synonyms of “Nervous” are: flighty, skittish, spooky, neural, aflutter, anxious, queasy, uneasy, unquiet, edgy, tense, excitable, jumpy, brittle, neurotic, hysterical, worried, apprehensive, strained, stressed, agitated, in a state of nerves, in a state of agitation, restless, worked up, keyed up, overwrought, wrought up, strung out, fidgety, fearful, frightened, scared, like a cat on a hot tin roof, trembling, shaky, in a cold sweat, fevered, febrile, embarrassed, uncomfortable, ill at ease, neurological

Nervous as an Adjective

Definitions of "Nervous" as an adjective

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “nervous” as an adjective can have the following definitions:

• Easily agitated or alarmed.
• Relating to or affecting the nerves.
• Unpredictably excitable (especially of horses.
• Of or relating to the nervous system.
• Easily agitated.
• Anxious or apprehensive.
• Causing or fraught with or showing anxiety.
• Excited in anticipation.
• (of a feeling or reaction) resulting from anxiety or anticipation.

Synonyms of "Nervous" as an adjective (43 Words)

aflutter	Excited in anticipation. He has the physique that could send a thousand female hearts aflutter.
agitated	Troubled emotionally and usually deeply. Agitated parents.
anxious	Very eager or concerned to do something or for something to happen. There were some anxious moments.
apprehensive	In fear or dread of possible evil or harm. Apprehensive of danger.
brittle	(of a person’s voice) unpleasantly hard and sharp and showing signs of instability or nervousness. Glass is brittle.
edgy	Being in a tense state. Tremendously edgy brass playing.
embarrassed	Feeling or caused to feel uneasy and self-conscious. I felt quite embarrassed whenever I talked to her.
excitable	Responding too readily to something new or stimulating; easily excited. A rather excitable young man.
fearful	Experiencing or showing fear. A fearful howling.
febrile	Having or showing the symptoms of a fever. A febrile reaction caused by an allergen.
fevered	Highly or nervously excited. They mopped his fevered brow.
fidgety	Nervous and unable to relax. I get nervous and fidgety at the dentist.
flighty	Fickle and irresponsible. Her mother was a flighty Southern belle.
frightened	Made afraid. A frightened child.
hysterical	Characterized by or arising from psychoneurotic hysteria- Morris Fishbein. Janet became hysterical and began screaming.
ill at ease	Affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function.
in a cold sweat	Directed or bound inward.
in a state of agitation	Currently fashionable.
in a state of nerves	Directed or bound inward.
jumpy	Causing or characterized by jolts and irregular movements. A jumpy pulse.
keyed up	Serving as an essential component.
like a cat on a hot tin roof	Having the same or similar characteristics.
neural	Relating to a nerve or the nervous system. Neural disorder.
neurological	Relating to the anatomy, functions, and organic disorders of nerves and the nervous system. Neurological evidence.
neurotic	Characteristic of or affected by neurosis. He seemed a neurotic self obsessed character.
overwrought	(of a piece of writing or a work of art) too elaborate or complicated in design or construction. She was too overwrought to listen to reason.
queasy	Causing or fraught with or showing anxiety. The queasy swell of the boat.
restless	Lacking or not affording physical or mental rest. The restless sea.
scared	Made afraid. We re both scared of spiders.
shaky	Unstable because of poor construction or heavy use. After a shaky start the Scottish team made superb efforts.
skittish	(of an animal, especially a horse) nervous or excitable; easily scared. A skittish chestnut mare.
spooky	Unpredictably excitable (especially of horses. I bet this place is really spooky late at night.
strained	Of a mainly liquid substance having been strained to separate out any solid matter. A constrained smile.
stressed	Strengthened by the application of stress during manufacture prestressed. He dropped out of the race clearly distressed and having difficulty breathing.
strung out	That is on a string.
tense	Pronounced with relatively tense tongue muscles e g the vowel sound in beat. She tried to relax her tense muscles.
trembling	Shaking or quivering, typically as a result of anxiety, excitement, or frailty. Trembling hands.
uncomfortable	Causing or feeling unease or awkwardness. Grew uncomfortable beneath his appraising eye.
uneasy	(of a situation or relationship) not settled; liable to change. She fell into an uneasy sleep.
unquiet	Uneasy; anxious. Poor Amy s unquiet spirit.
worked up	Out of bed.
worried	Afflicted with or marked by anxious uneasiness or trouble or grief. He is worried that we are not sustaining high employment.
wrought up	Shaped to fit by or as if by altering the contours of a pliable mass (as by work or effort.

Usage Examples of "Nervous" as an adjective

• A nervous disorder.
• Nervous disease.
• A nervous addict.
• A nervous thoroughbred.
• Nervous energy.
• He's nervous of speaking in public.
• Those nervous moments before takeoff.
• A sensitive, nervous person.
• Staying in the house on her own made her nervous.

Associations of "Nervous" (30 Words)

apprehensive	Mentally upset over possible misfortune or danger etc. Apprehensive for one s life.
defuse	Make (a situation) less tense or dangerous. Explosives specialists tried to defuse the grenade.
dejection	Solid excretory product evacuated from the bowels. He was slumped in deep dejection.
excitability	Being easily excited.
flighty	Fickle and irresponsible. Her mother was a flighty Southern belle.
fraught	Marked by distress. There was a fraught silence.
fretful	Nervous and unable to relax. A constant fretful stamping of hooves.
harried	Feeling strained as a result of having demands persistently made on one; harassed. Harried detectives answer ringing phones.
impatience	The tendency to be impatient; irritability or restlessness. He was shifting in his seat with impatience.
insecurity	The state of being subject to danger or injury. She had a deep sense of insecurity.
irritability	An irritable petulant feeling. Symptoms include insomnia and irritability.
nervously	In an anxiously nervous manner. Kevin nervously glanced at his watch.
nervy	Characterized or produced by apprehension or uncertainty. He was nervy and on edge.
paralyze	Cause to be paralyzed and immobile. The bureaucracy paralyzes the entire operation.
peevish	Having or showing an irritable disposition. A thin peevish voice.
petulance	The quality of being childishly sulky or bad-tempered. A slight degree of petulance had crept into his voice.
preoccupied	Having or showing excessive or compulsive concern with something. She seemed a bit preoccupied.
querulous	Habitually complaining. She became querulous and demanding.
restlessly	In a restless manner.
skittish	(of a person) playfully frivolous or unpredictable. My skittish and immature mother.
solicitous	Showing hovering attentiveness. Solicitous parents.
strained	Of a mainly liquid substance having been strained to separate out any solid matter. There was a strained silence.
stressed	Strengthened by the application of stress during manufacture prestressed. Stressed concrete walls.
temper	Make more temperate acceptable or suitable by adding something else. Tempered steel pins.
tense	Become tense nervous or uneasy. She tried to relax her tense muscles.
troubled	Characterized by or indicative of distress or affliction or danger or need. Troubled teenagers.
uneasy	Lacking a sense of security or affording no ease or reassurance. She lived in a state of uneasy truce with her strict father.
uptight	Anxious or angry in a tense and overly controlled way. He is so uptight about everything.
volatility	Tendency of a substance to evaporate at normal temperatures. The volatility of the market drove many investors away.
worried	Afflicted with or marked by anxious uneasiness or trouble or grief. A worried frown.