Bad / Nervous

audio

1 of 20
Bad / Nervous

verb

Picture

vacillate - To waver between different opinions or actions; to be indecisive.

He would vacillate between a career in business - that would be more secure - or in acting, something that he loved to do.

audio

2 of 20
Bad / Nervous

verb

Picture

falter - To lose strength or momentum; to weaken or stumble; to hesitate in action, purpose, or speech.

Her voice began to falter as she delivered the emotional speech.

audio

3 of 20
Bad / Nervous

adjective

Picture

insecure - Lacking confidence or self-assurance; feeling unsure about oneself.

When the disease caused blotches on her face, she just felt insecure whenever she was with people.

audio

4 of 20
Bad / Nervous

adjective

frenetic - Fast and energetic in a rather wild and uncontrolled way

Every James Bond movie features a frenetic car chase that has the audience on the edge of their seats.

audio

5 of 20
Bad / Nervous

adjective

Picture

touchy - Easily offended or sensitive to criticism or comments.

Be careful what you say—he’s really touchy about his artwork.

audio

6 of 20
Bad / Nervous

adjective

Picture

perturbed - Feeling unsettled, anxious, or troubled due to confusion, concern, or disruption.

She was visibly perturbed when she found out her flight had been canceled at the last minute.

audio

7 of 20
Bad / Nervous

verb

Picture

stutter - A speech pattern involving repetition of sounds or syllables: a repeated or broken way of speaking.

She began to stutter when she got nervous during the presentation.

audio

8 of 20
Bad / Nervous

adjective

frazzled - To feel completely exhausted and worn out, and unable to think straight, after a great deal of mental or physical effort

After being up two nights in a row writing a 60 page history paper, and drinking 60 cups of coffee, Simon's mind felt frazzled.

audio

9 of 20
Bad / Nervous

adjective

Picture

amok - to be out of control and act in a wild or dangerous manner

After Mendel saw the drunken peasants running amok destroying his little village, he knew it was time to leave Russia and go to America.

audio

10 of 20
Bad / Nervous

verb

Picture

gnaw - To cause continual distress or discomfort, often in a mental or emotional sense.

Doubts about her decision started to gnaw at her, making it hard to focus.

audio

11 of 20
Bad / Nervous

adjective

frantic - Wild or distraught with fear, anxiety, or other emotion

Between his two jobs and high debts, Randy was always frantic about how to deal with his life.

audio

12 of 20
Bad / Nervous

noun

fuss - A display of unnecessary or excessive excitement, activity, or interest

The baby would make a fuss every time his parents would try to take a picture of him.