Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The quality or state of being nervous.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The quality of being nervous; nervousness.
  • noun In botany, the state of being nerved.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun rare Nervousness.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The state of being nervous; nervousness.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin nervōsitās, sinewy strength, from nervōsus, sinewy; see nervous.]

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word nervosity.

Examples

  • Thereby she gets into increasing difficulties and a certain nervosity, because she simply cannot cope with everything she would and should like to perform, and then loses stamina.

    Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard - Autobiography 1996

  • Almost all the faces about these crowded tables – young or old, plain or handsome, distinguished or average – have the same look of quiet authority: it is as though all "nervosity," fussiness, little personal oddities, meannesses and vulgarities, had been burnt away in a great flame of self-dedication.

    Fighting France 1915

  • Almost all the faces about these crowded tables -- young or old, plain or handsome, distinguished or average -- have the same look of quiet authority: it is as though all "nervosity," fussiness, little personal oddities, meannesses and vulgarities, had been burnt away in a great flame of self-dedication.

    Fighting France, from Dunkerque to Belfort Edith Wharton 1899

  • The situation of the Middle East increased the nervosity of the government on this subject.

    China Muzzles Media to Prevent Mideast-Style Protests 2011

  • The situation of the Middle East increased the nervosity of the government on this subject.

    China Muzzles Media to Prevent Mideast-Style Protests 2011

  • But there was a lot of nervosity (ph) and emotion, especially coming from Yoko and Olivia.

    CNN Transcript Mar 29, 2008 2008

  • But there was a lot of nervosity (ph) and emotion, especially coming from Yoko and Olivia.

    CNN Transcript Dec 24, 2007 2007

  • But there was a lot of nervosity (ph) and emotion, especially coming from Yoko and Olivia.

    CNN Transcript Jun 30, 2007 2007

  • But there was a lot of nervosity (ph) and emotion, especially coming from Yoko and Olivia.

    CNN Transcript Jun 29, 2007 2007

  • But there was a lot of nervosity (ph) and emotion, especially coming from Yoko and Olivia.

    CNN Transcript Jun 26, 2007 2007

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.