Tra từ nervous - Từ điển Oxford Advanced Learner 8th

ner·vous BrE [ˈnɜːvəs] NAmE [ˈnɜːrvəs] adjective
1. anxious about sth or afraid of sth
•~ (about/of sth) Consumers are very nervous about the future.
• The horse may be nervous of cars.
•~ (about/of doing sth) He had been nervous about inviting us.
•I felt really nervous before the interview.
•a nervous glance/smile/voice (= one that shows that you feel anxious)
•By the time the police arrived, I was a nervous wreck.
Opp: ↑confident
2. easily worried or frightened
• She was a thin, nervous girl.
• He's not the nervous type.
•She was of a nervous disposition.
3. connected with the body's nerves and often affecting you mentally or emotionally
•a nervous condition/disorder/disease
• She was in a state of nervous exhaustion.
see frightened/nervous/scared of your own shadow at ↑shadow _n.
Derived Words: ↑nervously ▪ ↑nervousness

Word Origin:
late Middle English (in the senses ‘containing nerves’ and ‘relating to the nerves’): from Latin nervosus ‘sinewy, vigorous’, from nervus ‘sinew’; related to Greek neuron ‘nerve’. Senses 1 and 2 date from the mid 18th cent.

Thesaurus:
nervous [nervous nervously nervousness] adj.
1.
•I was very nervous before the exam.
worried • • anxious • • uneasy • • afraid • • frightened • • agitated • • flustered • |informal scared • |formal apprehensive • • fearful •
Opp: relaxed
nervous/worried/anxious/uneasy/frightened/agitated/flustered/scared/apprehensive/fearful about sth
nervous/worried/anxious/afraid/frightened/scared/apprehensive/fearful that…
get nervous/worried/anxious/frightened/scared/apprehensive
2.
•He's not the nervous type.
neurotic • • on edge • |informal edgy • • jittery •
Opp: relaxed
a nervous/neurotic man/woman
feel nervous/on edge/edgy/jittery

Synonyms:
nervous
neurotic • on edge • jittery
These words all describe people who are easily frightened or are behaving in a frightened way.
nervous • easily worried or frightened: ▪ She was ▪ of a nervous disposition ▪.
See also the entry for worried.
neurotic • not behaving in a reasonable, calm way, because you are worried about sth: ▪ She became neurotic about keeping the house clean.
on edge • nervous or bad-tempered: ▪ She was always on edge before an interview.
jittery • (informal) anxious and nervous: ▪ All this talk of job losses was making him jittery.
a nervous/neurotic man/woman/girl
to feel nervous/on edge/jittery
a bit nervous/on edge/jittery

Synonyms:
worried
concerned • nervous • anxious • uneasy
These words all describe feeling unhappy and afraid because you are thinking about unpleasant things that might happen or might have happened.
worried • thinking about unpleasant things that might happen or might have happened and therefore feeling unhappy and afraid
concerned • worried and feeling concern about sth
worried or concerned?
Concerned is usually used when you are talking about a problem that affects another person, society, the world, etc, while worried can be used for this or for more personal matters.
nervous • feeling worried about sth or slightly afraid of sth
anxious • feeling worried or nervous about sth
worried, nervous or anxious?
Worried is the most frequent word to describe how you feel when you are thinking about a problem or something bad that might happen. Anxious can describe a stronger feeling and is more formal. Nervous is more often used to describe how you feel before you do something very important such as an exam or an interview, or something unpleasant or difficult. Nervous can describe sb's personality: ▪ a very nervous girl is often or usually nervous; ▪ a worried girl is worried on a particular occasion or about a particular thing. Worried describes her feelings, not her personality. Anxious may describe feelings or personality.
uneasy • feeling worried or unhappy about a particular situation, especially because you think sth bad may happen or because you are not sure that what you are doing is right
worried/concerned/nervous/anxious/uneasy about (doing) sth
worried/concerned/anxious for sb/sth
worried/concerned/nervous/anxious that…
a(n) worried/concerned/nervous/anxious/uneasy expression/look/smile
to get worried/nervous/anxious

Example Bank:
•He had worked himself up into a highly nervous state.
•I was slightly nervous of him.
•Sit down— you're making me nervous!
•nervous about the wedding
•nervous at what might happen
•By the time the police arrived, I was a nervous wreck.
•He's not the nervous type.
•She was of a nervous disposition.