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uptight - 3 dictionary results
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up⋅tight

  [uhp-tahyt]
Use uptight in a Sentence
–adjective Slang.
1. tense, nervous, or jittery.
2. annoyed or angry.
3. stiffly conventional in manner or attitudes.
Origin:
1960–65, Americanism; up (perh. as intensifier) + tight

Related forms:
up⋅tight⋅ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To uptight
up·tight   (ŭp'tīt')   
adj.   Slang
  1. Tense; nervous.
  2. Financially pressed; destitute.
  3. Outraged; angry.
  4. Rigidly conventional, as in manners, opinions, and tastes: "She sees this headlong, headstrong, plunge into worldliness as a protracted process of shucking the shame of her uptight upbringing" (James Wolcott).
up'tight'ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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uptight 
Slang sense of "tense" is from 1934; that of "straight-laced" first recorded 1969. It was used in a sense of "excellent" in jazz slang c.1962.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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