jittery

adjective

jit·​tery ˈji-tə-rē How to pronounce jittery (audio)
1
: suffering from the jitters
2
: marked by jittering movements
jitteriness noun

Examples of jittery in a Sentence

I always get jittery when I have to give a speech. The latest economic news has made some investors jittery.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Investors who have been jittery about the market outlook after President Donald Trump’s off-again-on-again tariff threats briefly have a sigh of relief after the Federal Reserve on Wednesday hinted at two interest rate cuts later this year. Brian Evans, CNBC, 21 Mar. 2025 Wall Street is still jittery, with the market down more than 300 points this afternoon. Ted Johnson, Deadline, 11 Mar. 2025 The pressure is building for beauty’s biggest companies and Wall Street seems to be jittery about how the year will play out. Kathryn Hopkins, WWD, 25 Feb. 2025 Valencia-born, and raised in England and the Netherlands, the 35-year-old Ferran is jittery and angular, wringing her hands and playing with the zipper on her shearling gilet. Kate Lloyd, Vogue, 20 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for jittery

Word History

First Known Use

1931, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of jittery was in 1931

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Cite this Entry

“Jittery.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jittery. Accessed 1 Apr. 2025.

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