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nervousness

   Also found in: Medical, Legal, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia 0.01 sec.
nerv·ous  (nûrvs)
adj.
1.
a. Of or relating to the nerves or nervous system: nervous tissue.
b. Stemming from or affecting the nerves or nervous system: a nervous disorder.
2. Easily agitated or distressed; high-strung or jumpy.
3. Marked by or having a feeling of unease or apprehension: nervous moments before takeoff.
4. Vigorous in style or feeling; spirited: "the nervous thrust of a modern creation" (Henry A. Kissinger).
5. Archaic Strong; sinewy.

[Middle English, sinewy, containing nerves, from Latin nervsus, sinewy, from nervus, sinew; see nerve.]

nervous·ly adv.
nervous·ness n.

Nervousness 

See Also: ANXIETY, TENSION, TREMBLING

  1. All nervous and jerky like a windup toy or maybe a cockroach on its back, waving its legs and trying to turn over —George Garrett
  2. Clucked nervously, like a mongoose —Romain Gary
  3. Excitable … like a little rooster —Irwin Shaw
  4. (Sat there open-mouthed,) feeling the nerves of his body twitter like so many sparrows perched upon his spinal column —F.Scott Fitzgerald
  5. Felt as if she were on the edge of a frozen pond, forced to go forward and not knowing how thick the ice was —Donald MacKenzie
  6. Felt as if someone had taken a vegetable peeler to my nerves —T. Coraghessan Boyle
  7. His nerves set themselves on edge like soured teeth —H. E. Bates
  8. His stomach felt like a volcano about to erupt —Andrew Kaplan
  9. It’s (persistent feeling of impending insanity) like my head’s in a vice and all the assholes of the world are turning the goddam handle —Thomas Williams
  10. Jumpy as a goat —James Thurber
  11. Jumpy as a greyhound —Wallace Stegner
  12. Jumpy as a jumping bean —Anon
  13. Lived like an exposed nerve —Rita Mae Brown
  14. Looked … like a nervous rabbit nibbling the smell of a gun barrel —Paul Theroux
  15. Nerves burned like open sores on a dog’s neck —Hunter S. Thompson
  16. Nerves like a bundle of firecrackers —Amy Lowell

    Lowell’s poem, Rosebud Wall-Paper, from which this is taken was written in country dialogue, with ‘of written as ‘o’.

  17. Nerves like new thread —John Updike
  18. Nerves tied in small, intricate knots, like embroidery stitching —Jean Thompson
  19. (In rapid motion, bright,) nervous as a butterfly —Marge Piercy
  20. Nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof —Anon

    In a television interview playwright Tennessee Williams stated that his father always used this phrase which became the title for one of his best known plays. It also served as a line for one of the leading characters, Maggie. During the interview Williams credited this and many other colorful phrases to Southern Blacks.

  21. Nervous as a coyote in a pen —W. P. Kinsella
  22. Nervous as a dog with a bone —Ben Hecht
  23. Nervous as a hamster —Reynolds Price
  24. Nervous as a kitten with a duck for a foster mother —Victor Canning
  25. Nervous as a whore in church —American colloquialism
  26. Nervous as a will o’-the-wisp —F. Scott Fitzgerald
  27. On edge, like some restless night —Yasunari Kawabata
  28. (They felt everything, feared everything, started back at the snapping of a twig, all their) senses strained like those of nervous explorers cautiously advancing, hand on cocked trigger, into an unknown jungle —Dorothy Canfield Fisher
  29. Shuddering and wary, like horses bewildered by lightning —Ted Hughes

    Hughes’ poem, A Wind Flashes the Grass, links the comparison of the wary horses to trees suddenly silent and motionless.

  30. White and shaken, like a dry martini —P. G. Wodehouse
  31. Wriggle nervously like captive fish —Margaret Millar
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.nervousness - the anxious feeling you have when you have the jitters
anxiety - a vague unpleasant emotion that is experienced in anticipation of some (usually ill-defined) misfortune
2.nervousness - an uneasy psychological statenervousness - an uneasy psychological state; "he suffered an attack of nerves"
mental condition, mental state, psychological condition, psychological state - (psychology) a mental condition in which the qualities of a state are relatively constant even though the state itself may be dynamic; "a manic state"
heebie-jeebies, jitters, screaming meemies - extreme nervousness
mental strain, nervous strain, strain - (psychology) nervousness resulting from mental stress; "his responsibilities were a constant strain"; "the mental strain of staying alert hour after hour was too much for him"
3.nervousness - a sensitive or highly strung temperament
disposition, temperament - your usual mood; "he has a happy disposition"
queasiness, restlessness, uneasiness - inability to rest or relax or be still
skittishness, restiveness - characterized by nervousness and quickness to take fright

nervousness
noun anxiety, stress, tension, strain, unease, disquiet, agitation, trepidation, timidity, excitability, perturbation, edginess, worry, jumpiness, antsiness (informal) I smiled in an attempt to hide my nervousness.
Translations
nervousness [ˈnɜːvəsnɪs] N (= apprehension, timidity) → nerviosismo m; (= fear) → miedo m
his nervousness of flyingsu miedo a volar
nervousness [ˈnɜːrvəsnɪs] n
(= anxiety) → nervosité f
nervousness about sth → nervosité quant à qch
nervousness about the future → nervosité quant à l'avenir
There was nervousness in the White House about what might happen → La nervosité régnait à la Maison Blanche dans l'attente de ce qui allait bien pouvoir se passer.
(= lack of courage) → nervosité f
to conquer one's nervousness → vaincre sa nervosité
nervous system nsystème m nerveux
nervous wreck n
to be a nervous wreck → être à bout de nerfs
nervousness
nÄngstlichkeit f; (= edgy state)Nervosität f; his nervousness about flyingseine Angst vor dem Fliegen
nervousness [ˈnɜːvəsnɪs] nnervosismo; (anxiousness) → ansia


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He did not mention this to his daughter, but Natasha noticed her father's nervousness and anxiety and felt mortified by it.
Caswall's efforts at staring became intensified, and poor Lilla's nervousness grew greater.
I have no doubt that it was largely nervousness that kept the mysterious playwright so long fumbling behind the scenes, for it was obvious that it would be no ordinary sort of play, no every-day domestic drama, that would satisfy this young lady, to whom life had given, by way of prologue, the inestimable blessing of wealth, and the privilege, as a matter of course, of choosing as she would among the grooms (that is, the bride-grooms) of the romantic British aristocracy.
 
 
 
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