adjective

• Causing stress or anxiety.

  ‘his driving test was a nerve-racking ordeal’

  More example sentences

  • ‘They will talk of prisons in Greece, of frightful justice systems, and of a nerve-racking ordeal which the enthusiast is never likely to forget.’
  • ‘Postponing a scheduled surgical procedure ratchets up stress in an already nerve-racking event.’
  • ‘This was a nerve-wracking ordeal for me as Tony's bungalow was one of the few on the mine where the windows were not netted in.’
  • ‘It's nerve-wracking and fraught with the potential for rejection and humiliation.’
  • ‘The ordeal of the police identity parade is as nerve-wracking for those who take part as the witnesses on the far side of the darkened glass screen.’
  • ‘That was a difficult and nerve-racking situation.’
  • ‘The stress of pregnancy, revelation of pregnancy to parents, and moving on despite the shame and worry can be nerve-racking.’
  • ‘So my first 10-minute speech was a very difficult and nerve-racking time.’
  • ‘I met with them both in the morning to support them during this stressful and nerve-racking day.’
  • ‘Exams can be nerve-wracking, and controlling your stress levels around this time can be difficult.’
  • ‘Flying is nerve-wracking at the best of times, and it only takes one stupid and irresponsible person to turn a holiday flight into an airborne nightmare.’
  • ‘And he admits his first show, in Shepherds Bush, London, where Naomi was in the audience, was nerve-wracking.’
  • ‘Eye contact can be nerve-wracking in a presentation setting, but stay cool try to focus on each classmate one at a time.’
  • ‘This is obviously a distracting, nerve-wracking, uncomfortable experience for him.’
  • ‘The fact only one team will be relegated at the end of the campaign doesn't make matters any less nerve-wracking for those in the danger zone.’
  • ‘A nurse is facing a nerve-wracking few weeks waiting for the result of tests to find whether or not he has been injected with the HIV virus.’
  • ‘But he pushed me to make amends, and the whole thing was pretty nerve-wracking really, but it was a mostly cool night.’
  • ‘‘I went in for a camera test and that was the most nerve-wracking part of the entire shoot,’ she says.’
  • ‘The game ended up going to a penalty shootout, which was pretty nerve-wracking, and a little anticlimatic at the same time.’
  • ‘Just getting up on the stage at first was really nerve-wracking.’

  Synonyms

  demanding, trying, exacting, taxing, difficult, hard, tough

  View synonyms