adjective · informal
nervous
UK/ˈnɜːvəs/US/ˈnɜːrvəs/NER·vous
Band 5-6speakingtask2
feeling worried or anxious, often before a specific event
Examples
“I always feel nervous before the speaking test.”
“He looks nervous when he has to speak in public.”
“Don't be nervous — just answer naturally.”
Band 8 sentence
“Many candidates admit they feel nervous in Part 1, so practising typical questions reduces anxiety and improves fluency.”
Collocations
- nervous about
- get nervous
- feel nervous
Word family
nervous adjectivenervously adverbnervousness noun
Common mistakes
I'm nervous for the exam.→I'm nervous about the exam.
Say it for a higher band
5worried→6anxious→7+nervous
Synonyms
worried
anxious
Easily confused
anxious
“She felt anxious waiting for the exam results.”
Related words
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In -ous
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