NERVOUS • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Nervous

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/nˈərvəs/ Listen

adjective

Nervous adj.

1.

Possessing nerve; sinewy; strong; vigorous. "Nervous arms."

2.

Possessing or manifesting vigor of mind; characterized by strength in sentiment or style; forcible; spirited; as, a nervous writer.

3.

Of or pertaining to the nerves; seated in the nerves; as, nervous excitement; a nervous fever.

4.

Having the nerves weak, diseased, or easily excited; subject to, or suffering from, undue excitement of the nerves; easily agitated or annoyed. "Poor, weak, nervous creatures."

5.

Sensitive; excitable; timid.

6.

Apprehensive; as, a child nervous about his mother's reaction to his bad report card. "Our aristocratic class does not firmly protest against the unfair treatment of Irish Catholics, because it is nervous about the land."

Nervous fever (Med.), a low form of fever characterized by great disturbance of the nervous system, as evinced by delirium, or stupor, disordered sensibility, etc.

Nervous system (Anat.), the specialized coordinating apparatus which endows animals with sensation and volition. In vertebrates it is often divided into three systems: the central, brain and spinal cord; the peripheral, cranial and spinal nerves; and the sympathetic. See Brain, Nerve, Spinal cord, under Spinal, and Sympathetic system, under Sympathetic.

Nervous temperament, a condition of body characterized by a general predominance of mental manifestations.

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Etymology of 'Nervous'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Nervous" Quotes from Famous Books

... little more than usual. Georgiana toyed with some French beans and a spoonful of calves'-foot jelly. 'I feel a little stronger to-day,' she said to Lord Timpany, when he congratulated her on this increase of appetite; 'a little more material,' she added, with a nervous laugh. Looking up, she caught George's eye; a blush suffused her cheeks and ...

— Crome Yellow • Aldous Huxley

... wind outside sang its mournful winter-song; the tramp of passing footsteps, the roll of passing wheels on the road ceased in dreary silence. He slept on quietly. The firelight rose and fell on his wizen little face and his nervous, drooping hands. Mrs. Lecount had not pitied him yet. She began to pity him now. Her point was gained; her interest in his will was secured; he had put his future life, of his own accord, under her fostering care—the fire was comfortable; the ...

— No Name • Wilkie Collins

... once I noticed that the lion seemed to be getting strangely restless, turning his great head from side to side in a nervous kind of way, as if he saw or heard something that he didn't like. At first I couldn't imagine what on earth was the matter with him, but presently I caught a sound which scared me much worse than it had done the lion. Far in the distance I could hear a dull, booming ...

— Harper's Young People, March 30, 1880 - An Illustrated Weekly • Various

... been abroad a month, he wrote for leave to return home and to throw himself into business. There was, for once, a nervous impatience in his letters, and his father, who pitied him deeply, and was more than ever inclined to reward and indulge him, yielded readily enough; and, on his arrival, signed the partnership deed, and, ...

— Foul Play • Charles Reade

... the celebrated specialist was summoned, but his examination was sickening in its brevity, and his verdict held out no hope. "The nervous system has received some terribly sudden shock," he said; "and there is a serious rupture of the vessels of the heart. She may recover consciousness, but it will be only momentary. We see many appalling sights in my profession, but rarely one so sad ...

— Australia Revenged • Boomerang

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