Transcription
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
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- [neyl bahy-ting]
- /neɪl ˈbaɪ tɪŋ/
- /neɪl ˈbaɪ.tɪŋ/
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
-
- [neyl bahy-ting]
- /neɪl ˈbaɪ tɪŋ/
Definitions of nail-biting word
- noun nail-biting the act or practice of biting one's fingernails, especially as the result of anxiety or nervousness. 1
- noun nail-biting Informal. nervousness: The announcement that the trade agreement had been signed ended a week of nail-biting on Wall Street. 1
- adjective nail-biting Informal. causing nervousness: The nail-biting part of the canoe trip was through the stretches of white water. 1
- adjective nail-biting tense, exciting 1
- adjective nail-biting If you describe something such as a story or a sports match as nail-biting, you mean that it makes you feel very excited or nervous because you do not know how it is going to end. 0
- uncountable noun nail-biting Nail-biting is the activity of biting the ends of your fingernails, for example because you are anxious. 0
Information block about the term
Origin of nail-biting
First appearance:
before 1890 One of the 20% newest English words
First recorded in 1890-95
Historical Comparancy
Parts of speech for Nail-biting
noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
nail-biting popularity
A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 31% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.
According to our data about 70% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.
Synonyms for nail-biting
noun nail-biting
- nervousness — highly excitable; unnaturally or acutely uneasy or apprehensive: to become nervous under stress.
- restlessness — characterized by or showing inability to remain at rest: a restless mood.
- apprehension — Apprehension is a feeling of fear that something bad may happen.
- suffering — the state of a person or thing that suffers.
- uncertainty — the state of being uncertain; doubt; hesitancy: His uncertainty gave impetus to his inquiry.
adv nail-biting
- anxious — If you are anxious to do something or anxious that something should happen, you very much want to do it or very much want it to happen.
- edgy — nervously irritable; impatient and anxious.
- fidgety — restless; impatient; uneasy.
- high-strung — at great tension; highly excitable or nervous; edgy: high-strung nerves; a high-strung person.
- impatient — not patient; not accepting delay, opposition, pain, etc., with calm or patience.
Antonyms for nail-biting
noun nail-biting
- calm — A calm person does not show or feel any worry, anger, or excitement.
- calmness — without rough motion; still or nearly still: a calm sea.
- collected — An author's collected works or letters are all their works or letters published in one book or in a set of books.
- happiness — the quality or state of being happy.
- joy — a female given name.
See also
Matching words
- Words starting with n
- Words starting with na
- Words starting with nai
- Words starting with nail
- Words starting with nailb
- Words starting with nailbi
- Words starting with nailbit
- Words starting with nailbiti
- Words starting with nailbitin
- Words starting with nailbiting