NERVOUS Synonyms: 145 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How does the adjective 'nervous' contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of nervous are energetic , lusty , strenuous , and vigorous . While all these words mean "having or showing great vitality and force," nervous suggests especially the forcibleness and sustained effectiveness resulting from mental vigor. // full of nervous energy

Q: When is 'energetic' a more appropriate choice than 'nervous'?

Although the words energetic and nervous have much in common, energetic suggests a capacity for intense activity. // an energetic campaigner

Q: When might 'lusty' be a better fit than 'nervous'?

While in some cases nearly identical to nervous , lusty implies exuberant energy and capacity for enjoyment. // a lusty appetite for life

Q: When is it sensible to use 'strenuous' instead of 'nervous'?

While the synonyms strenuous and nervous are close in meaning, strenuous suggests a preference for coping with the arduous or the challenging. // the strenuous life on an oil rig

Q: When can 'vigorous' be used instead of 'nervous'?

The meanings of vigorous and nervous largely overlap; however, vigorous further implies showing no signs of depletion or diminishing of freshness or robustness. // as vigorous as a youth half his age

nervous

adjective

ˈnər-vəs

Definition of nervous

as in worried

feeling or showing uncomfortable feelings of uncertainty he was nervous about how he would do at the varsity basketball tryouts

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in uneasy

marked by or causing agitation or uncomfortable feelings a nervous silence filled the room as the teacher handed out the graded exams

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in excitable

easily excited by nature a nervous sort of person, she's completely thrown by anything unexpected

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective nervous contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of nervous are energetic, lusty, strenuous, and vigorous. While all these words mean "having or showing great vitality and force," nervous suggests especially the forcibleness and sustained effectiveness resulting from mental vigor.

full of nervous energy

When is energetic a more appropriate choice than nervous?

Although the words energetic and nervous have much in common, energetic suggests a capacity for intense activity.

an energetic campaigner

When might lusty be a better fit than nervous?

While in some cases nearly identical to nervous, lusty implies exuberant energy and capacity for enjoyment.

a lusty appetite for life

When is it sensible to use strenuous instead of nervous?

While the synonyms strenuous and nervous are close in meaning, strenuous suggests a preference for coping with the arduous or the challenging.

the strenuous life on an oil rig

When can vigorous be used instead of nervous?

The meanings of vigorous and nervous largely overlap; however, vigorous further implies showing no signs of depletion or diminishing of freshness or robustness.

as vigorous as a youth half his age

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of nervous As the military-style helicopter hovered above them, attendees from the rural, predominantly Latino community, began to get nervous. — Philip Wang, Time, 19 Oct. 2026 To move forward and, one day, make reparation would surely mean including voices that might have made Mike Wallace nervous, and perhaps fall well outside Weiss’s favored forty-yard lines. — Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2026 Eisenberg was amusingly nervous about getting himself into hot water during the session. — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 18 Oct. 2026 Sources told Page Six that Charles’ absence made many nervous, and royal insiders began speculating that his work schedule has been reduced. — Allison Degrushe, StyleCaster, 16 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for nervous

Recent Examples of Synonyms for nervous

Adjective

Observers say the Student List party's policies remain vague, which has some worried about Serbia's future.

— Chris Massaro, FOXNews.com, 27 Oct. 2026
Gas prices were safely below $3 a gallon, and, if anything, the energy market was worried about a supply glut that could keep fuel prices low.

— Matt Egan, CNN Money, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of worried

Adjective

But bond markets are already uneasy with Brazil's growing debt-to-GDP ratio, and are likely to demand an ever-higher premium if public spending rises significantly.

— Jenni Reid, CNBC, 27 Oct. 2026
The effort is backed by an uneasy alliance between the right-wing Make America Healthy Again movement and progressives, both motivated by concerns over food safety.

— Elijah Wolfson, Washington Post, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of uneasy

Adjective

The director general was attempting to lift the gloom after being beset with questions from anxious employees about job losses, service reductions, and general retrenchment.

— Max Goldbart, Deadline, 24 Oct. 2026
An anxious child Apart from her scribbled notes, scant details are available about Runa’s experience in detention, according to her lawyer Yoshihiro Mukai.

— Hanako Montgomery, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026

Definition of anxious

Adjective

The tax came up in a conversation between the two after negotiations between Zuckerberg and the committee appeared to grow tense.

— Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2026
In this tense political climate, Becker said, even straightforward election mistakes are magnified on social media and become the subject of conspiracy theories, making the job of local elections officials much more difficult.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of tense

Adjective

For Daughtry, who was dispatched to work the crash by his editor that day, the assignment was one of the most disturbing of his career.

— Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 21 Oct. 2026
This disturbing contradiction suggests that different physical laws apply to the observer and the observed.

— Philipp Strasberg, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of disturbing

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“Nervous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nervous. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of nervous

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