nervous-nellie

adjective

Characterized by worry or anxiety; having a weak, insecure personality.

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Meanings

nervous-nellie1

adjectivenervous-nellie (not comparable)
  1. alternativenot comparableAlternative spelling of nervous-Nellie.

nervous-Nellie2

adjectivenervous-Nellie (not comparable)

alternative nervous-nellie · alternative Nervous-Nellie · alternative nervous-nelly · alternative nervous-Nelly · alternative Nervous-Nelly

  1. informalnot comparableCharacterized by worry or anxiety; having a weak, insecure personality.

    1993, David Ansen, "Goodbye, Mr. Gibson (film review of The Man Without a Face)," Newsweek,, 30 Aug, Woody Allen plays his most frazzled variation on the Woody we know best: a nervous-Nellie urban neurotic kvetching his way through life as a means of avoiding it.

Nervous-Nellie3

adjectiveNervous-Nellie (not comparable)
  1. alternativenot comparableAlternative spelling of nervous-Nellie.
Cite this entry
APA

nervous-nellie. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nervous-nellie

MLA

“nervous-nellie.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nervous-nellie. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nervous-nellie,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nervous-nellie.

Source: nervous-nellie on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.