nervy

adjective (nervy, nervier, nerviest)

«nervy» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

Everyday

(UK, Australia, NZ) Nervous, jumpy and easily worried or frightened. tree →
(US, informal) Bold and cheeky, daring to do things others would not. tree →

In the lessons

A word that means different things in different countries: in a British story, a "nervy" horse or child is jumpy; in an American story, a "nervy" kid is cheeky or brave. Used about sport ("a nervy finish") and everyday feelings.

Examples

I always feel a bit nervy before a test. (UK) tree →
The horse was nervy and jumped at every noise. tree →
It was a nervy last five minutes, but we held on to win. tree →
The nervy kitten hid under the sofa. tree →
That was a nervy thing to say to the principal! (US) tree →
He gave a nervy laugh. tree →
She was nervy on her first day at the new school. tree →

Note

UK and US meanings differ: UK "nervy" = nervous; US "nervy" = bold or cheeky. Comparative "nervier", superlative "nerviest". Related: "nervous", "nerve" ("You've got a nerve!" = how rude/cheeky).

On Mova

Trees and pragmatics of «nervy» in the school dictionary: every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
«nervy» in the school dictionary on Mova free.

This page in Markdown → https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/nervy/