Definitions

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

  • adjective Intensely distressing or irritating to the nerves.

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

  • adjective Extremely irritating to the nerves; stressful; trying.

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

  • adjective intensely irritating or distressing to the nerves

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective extremely irritating to the nerves

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Being allowed out on his own made Henry a little happier, but it was nerve-racking for everybody else.

    Henry’s Demons Patrick Cockburn 2011

  • Jan and I individually, or together with Alex, would also take him out in London, which at first was a nerve-racking and exhausting business.

    Henry’s Demons Patrick Cockburn 2011

  • I had a nerve-racking test when I had to speak to a book club in Moncton, New Brunswick.

    Discussion: On Sex in Fiction 2009

  • Jan and I individually, or together with Alex, would also take him out in London, which at first was a nerve-racking and exhausting business.

    Henry’s Demons Patrick Cockburn 2011

  • Hugging the spectacular Ligurian coast, the route tilted uphill immediately with a 15. 8-kilometer (9. 8-mile) climb followed by a nerve-racking descent full of hairpin curves with cliffs heading down to the sea lurking just over the guardrails.

    Menchov wins Stage 12 time trial to take Giro lead 2009

  • After a short, intensely nerve-racking wrong turn into a military base, we find the site, and Julio comes out to meet us, his eyes glazed and red, we presume, since Friday.

    Down and Delirious in Mexico City Daniel Hernandez 2011

  • NORTON, Massachusetts Reuters - Ernie Els is a three-times major champion and has faced plenty of pressure in his glittering career but he had to survive a nerve-racking finish to the Deutsche Bank Championship on Monday.

    Els withstands playoff pressure to move on in FedExCup Reuters 2011

  • And yet, the result of reams of paperwork, hours of parenting classes, home visits, interviews, and nerve-racking times of waiting was glorious.

    Chicken Soup for the Soul: New Moms Jack Canfield 2011

  • NORTON, Massachusetts Reuters - Ernie Els is a three-times major champion and has faced plenty of pressure in his glittering career but he had to survive a nerve-racking finish to the Deutsche Bank Championship on Monday.

    Els withstands playoff pressure to move on in FedExCup Reuters 2011

  • The first soufflé after a period of abstention is always nerve-racking, and I hover by the oven anxiously, wishing I'd cleaned the glass more recently.

    How to cook perfect cheese soufflé 2011

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