nervousness

nervous (ˈnɜːvəs)

—*adj*
1.	very excitable or sensitive; highly strung
2.	(often foll by of) apprehensive or worried: I'm nervous of traffic
3.	of, relating to, or containing nerves; neural: nervous tissue
4.	affecting the nerves or nervous tissue: a nervous disease
5.	archaic active, vigorous, or forceful

'nervously

—*adv*

'nervousness

—n

nervous (ˈnɜːvəs)

—*adj*
1.	very excitable or sensitive; highly strung
2.	(often foll by of) apprehensive or worried: I'm nervous of traffic
3.	of, relating to, or containing nerves; neural: nervous tissue
4.	affecting the nerves or nervous tissue: a nervous disease
5.	archaic active, vigorous, or forceful

'nervously

—*adv*

'nervousness

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

nervous

c.1400, "affecting the sinews," from L. nervosus "sinewy, vigorous," from nervus "sinew, nerve" (see nerve). Sense of "of or belonging to the nerves" in the modern sense is from 1665. Meaning "suffering disorder of the nervous system" is from 1734; illogical sense "restless,

agitated, lacking nerve" is 1740. Widespread popular use as a euphemism for mental forced the medical community to coin neurological to replace it in the older sense. Nervous wreck first attested 1899.

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

nervous nerv·ous (nûr'vəs)
adj.

Of or relating to the nerves or nervous system.
Stemming from or affecting the nerves or nervous system, as a disease.
Easily agitated or distressed.

nerv'ous·ness n.

Example sentences

Their unconsummated compliments leave their targets in a confused state of

flattery, frustration and nervousness.

But underpinning the weakness is nervousness over the state of the public

finances, given the crisis in banking.

There are no freshman orientation weeks, no cohorts of newcomers banding

together and covering their nervousness with bravado.

Professional athletes and actors say some nervousness helps them concentrate

better.

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Matching Quote

"Men, my dear, are very queer animals, a mixture of horse- nervousness, ass-stubbornness, and camel-malice—with an angel bobbing about unexpectedly like the apple in the posset, and when they can do exactly as they please, they are very hard to drive.
Oh, England. Sick in head and sick in heart,
Sick in whole and every part,
And yet sicker thou art still
For thinking that thou art not ill."

-Thomas Henry Anonymous