word-vault/dist/data/cards/ne/nervous.json

A lightweight JavaScript package for English word definitions and collections.

{
    "term": "nervous",
    "partOfSpeech": "adjective",
    "ox3000": true,
    "cefr": "a2",
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "anxious about something or afraid of something",
            "sensetop": "nervous about somethingnervous of somebody/somethingnervous about/of doing something",
            "cefr": "a2",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "I felt really nervous before the interview."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I get so nervous before exams."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I was too nervous to say anything."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Consumers are very nervous about the future.",
                    "contextForm": "nervous about something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The horse may be nervous of cars.",
                    "contextForm": "nervous of somebody/something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "He had been nervous about inviting us.",
                    "contextForm": "nervous about/of doing something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "a **nervous laugh/glance/smile** *(= one that shows that you feel anxious)*"
                },
                {
                    "text": "By the time the police arrived, I was a **nervous wreck**."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I was so nervous I almost fainted."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He had worked himself up into a highly nervous state."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I was slightly nervous of him."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Sit down—you're making me nervous!"
                },
                {
                    "text": "nervous about the wedding"
                },
                {
                    "text": "I must admit that I was a bit nervous at first."
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Feelings"],
            "collocations": {
                "verbs": ["appear", "be", "feel"],
                "adverb": ["extremely", "fairly", "very"],
                "preposition": ["about", "at", "of"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "easily worried or frightened",
            "cefr": "b1",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "He was a thin, nervous child."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He's not the nervous type."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She was **of a nervous disposition**."
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Personal qualities"],
            "collocations": {
                "verbs": ["appear", "be", "feel"],
                "adverb": ["extremely", "fairly", "very"],
                "preposition": ["about", "at", "of"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "connected with the body’s nerves and often affecting you mentally or emotionally",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "a nervous condition/disorder/disease"
                },
                {
                    "text": "She was in a state of nervous exhaustion."
                },
                {
                    "text": "There is danger of her going into nervous shock."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He was full of nervous energy, like a racehorse who hadn't run in a while."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to be very easily frightened; to be very nervous",
            "examples": [],
            "topics": ["Feelings"]
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈnɜːvəs/",
                "audio": "ne/nervous/nervous__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈnɜːrvəs/",
                "audio": "ne/nervous/nervous__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "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."
}