nervy

English[edit]

nerve +‎ -y

nervy (comparative nervier, superlative nerviest)

(US) Having nerve; bold; brazen.
(Britain) Feeling nervous, anxious or agitated.
- 2012 May 9, John Percy, “Birmingham City 2 Blackpool 2 (2-3 on agg): match report”, in the Telegraph^[1]:
  
  Blackpool continue to thrive on the adrenalin rush of the end-of-season shoot-out and are heading for a second Wembley date in two years after negotiating a nervy path past Birmingham.
(archaic) Strong; sinewy.
- John Keats
  
  And, for those simple times, his garments were
  A chieftain-king's: beneath his breast, half bare,
  Was hung a silver bugle, and between
  His nervy knees there lay a boar-spear keen […]
(technical) jittery; having unwanted signal characteristics.

bold

nervous