Meanings
comparative more nerve-shredding · superlative most nerve-shredding
- informalSuspenseful.
The interior of an active diesel locomotive's engine compartment was the nerve-shredding inferno I had imagined, intensified because the bulk of the violently drumming power plant hems you so close to it.
1960 January, G. Freeman Allen, “"Condor"—British Railways' fastest freight train”, in Trains Illustrated, page 481 more example
His side could find dignity in defeat after they subjected Manchester City to a nerve-shredding finale but the Premier League's second-placed team still advanced to the fourth round and a tie against Notts County that Roberto Mancini will hope will be much more straightforward.
2011 January 18, Daniel Taylor, “Manchester City 4 Leicester City 2”, in Guardian OnlineSynonyms: nail-biting
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveSuspenseful.
Cite this entry
nerve-shredding. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nerve-shredding
“nerve-shredding.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nerve-shredding. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nerve-shredding,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nerve-shredding.
Source: nerve-shredding on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.