nervous
adjective
Simple meaning
Easily agitated or alarmed.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
nurvuhsSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈnɝvəs
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Easily agitated or alarmed; edgy, on edge.
Of or relating to the nervous system
Affecting or involving the nerves or nervous system.
Apprehensive, anxious, hesitant, worried.
Supplied with nerves; innervated.
Of sinews and tendons.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
In an anxiously nervous manner.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A severe or incapacitating emotional disorder.
A disorder of the nervous system.
An emotional disorder that leaves you exhausted and unable to work.
The electrical discharge that travels along a nerve fiber.
An emotional disorder that leaves you exhausted and unable to work.
Nervousness resulting from mental stress.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
A toxic gas that is inhaled or absorbed through the skin and has harmful effects on the nervous and respiratory system.
A toxic gas that is inhaled or absorbed through the skin and has harmful effects on the nervous and respiratory system.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.