1
general::
nervous
verbs
feel nervous
• He looked at her for so long that she began to feel nervous.
get/become nervous
• Everyone gets nervous before a big game.
seem/appear nervous
• She seemed nervous at first, but her presentation was good.
look/sound nervous
• He sounded nervous and uncertain.
make somebody nervous
• Being alone in the house made her nervous.
adverbs
slightly nervous
• Looking slightly nervous, Paul began to speak.
a little/a bit nervous
• I was a little nervous before the interview.
extremely nervous
• The policeman noticed that the driver seemed extremely nervous.
nouns
a nervous smile/laugh/giggle
• ‘It doesn’t matter,’ she said, with a nervous smile.
nervous laughter
• His comment was met with nervous laughter.
a nervous look/glance
• Lucy swallowed as she sent him a nervous glance.
nervous tension
(= a feeling of being very tense and nervous )
• It was the play’s opening night, and Gloria was in a state of nervous tension.
phrases
be a nervous wreck
(= be so nervous or worried that you cannot deal with a situation )
• By the end of the rehearsal I was a nervous wreck.
transnet.ir
2
general::
adj. VERBS appear, be, feel, look, seem, sound Both men appeared nervous. | become, get, grow | make sb Sit down?you're making me nervous! ADV. desperately, extremely, highly, really, very He had worked himself up into a highly nervous state. | increasingly | almost | a bit, a little, pretty, quite, rather, slightly, somewhat | suddenly | clearly, obviously | understandably PREP. about nervous about the wedding | at nervous at what might happen | of I was slightly nervous of him.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
3
general::
nervous
worried or a little frightened about something and unable to relax:
• Kelly was so nervous about her exam that she couldn’t sleep. • It makes me nervous when you drive that fast.
tense
worried and unable to relax in a way that makes you get angry or upset easily:
• Mary’s problems at work were making her tense and irritable.
uneasy
nervous because you feel that something bad might happen, so that you are unable to relax until the danger has passed:
• I began to feel uneasy when he still hadn’t phoned by 11 o'clock.
on edge
if you are on edge or your nerves are on edge, you feel nervous because you are worried about what might happen:
• My nerves were on edge, waiting for the results of the test. • Redundancies and other work upheavals have put employees on edge.
neurotic
nervous and anxious in a way that is not normal or reasonable:
• She’s completely neurotic about food hygiene. • a neurotic mother
edgy/jumpy/jittery
nervous because you are worried about what might happen:
• Investors are a little edgy about the financial markets these days. • There was a lot of pressure on the team tonight and that’s why they were a little jumpy.
highly-strung
British English , high-strung American English becoming nervous or upset easily because that is your character:
• Like many musicians, he’s very sensitive and highly-strung.
be a nervous wreck
to feel extremely nervous and unable to relax:
• After 10 months of teaching, I was a total nervous wreck.
have butterflies (in your stomach)
informal to feel nervous about something that you are going to do very soon because it is important and you want to do it well:
• Actors often have butterflies before going on stage.
Longman-Thesaurus