jittery

英 ['dʒɪtəri] 美 ['dʒɪtəri]

adj.神经过敏的；紧张不安的；战战兢兢的

◉词源

“jittery”源自英语动词“jitter”，后者在20世纪20年代的美国俚语中出现，意为“颤抖、紧张”，可能与“jitterbug”（一种快速摇摆舞）相关，或模仿颤抖的拟声词。“jitter”可能源于中古英语“chiteren”（颤抖）。添加后缀“-y”后，“jittery”于20世纪30年代形成，意为“紧张不安的”或“颤抖的”。

◉外刊例句

① 《The Economist》 (2024年8月10日)

Investors grew jittery as markets plunged.

随着市场暴跌，投资者变得紧张不安。

② 《The New York Times》 (2023年11月27日)

The jittery crowd awaited the election results.

紧张不安的人群等待着选举结果。

◉经典名著

① 《了不起的盖茨比》（The Great Gatsby） by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925)

He felt a little jittery as he waited for her at the station

他在车站等她时感到有点紧张不安。

② 《愤怒的葡萄》（The Grapes of Wrath） by John Steinbeck (1939)

Ma was jittery, sensing trouble in the air.

妈妈感到紧张不安，察觉到空气中的麻烦。

◉Usage Examples

(1) That alone could make you jittery because you had no idea it would be coming!

(1) 总之这个消息初来时，会让你有点不安，毕竟来的太突然。

◉Usage Notes

Jittery can describe jerky or nervous actions. If you consume a lot of caffeine, you might appear jittery.

If a running back is darting around quickly and unpredictably, making herky-jerky movements, he's jittery. Also, jittery applies to people who feel nervous or tense. If you're worried about a test, you'll feel jittery. During the last minute of a basketball game, some players get jittery. Synonyms for this nervous kind of jittery are edgy, high-strung, jumpy, nervy, and uptight.

◉柯林斯词典

1[ADJ-GRADED 能被表示程度的副词或介词词组修饰的形容词]紧张不安的；举止慌张的 If someone is jittery, they feel nervous or are behaving nervously. [INFORMAL 非正式]

International investors have become jittery about the country's economy.

国际投资者已对该国的经济状况感到紧张不安。