jumpy
/ˈdʒʌmpi
/adjective (jumpier, jumpiest) informal
1(Of a person) anxious and uneasy: he was tired and jumpy...
- I couldn't sit still, I was jumpy and anxious especially about meeting Erica.
- He was jumpy and apprehensive, and most likely wouldn't have been able to hit anything even surrounding the small oracle if pressed to.
- Kathleen winced as his temper rose; she was jumpy and nervous now because of his actions but once again surprised at his words.
Synonyms
nervous, on edge, edgy, tense, anxious, ill at ease, unrelaxed, in a state of nerves, in a state of agitation, fretful, uneasy, restless, fidgety, worked up, keyed up, overwrought, wrought up, strung out, on tenterhooks, on pins and needles, with one's stomach in knots, worried, apprehensive, strained;
shaky, shaking, trembling, quivering;
British nervy
informal with butterflies in one's stomach, a bundle of nerves, jittery, like a cat on a hot tin roof, twitchy, in a state, in a stew, uptight, wired, het up, all of a dither, all of a doodah, all of a lather, in a tizz/tizzy, stressed out, white-knuckled
British informal strung up, stressy, windy, like a cat on hot bricks
North American informal spooky, squirrelly, antsy
Australian/New Zealand informal toey
dated overstrung
1.1Characterized by abrupt stops and starts or an irregular course: a jumpy pulse...
- Excellent, a whole meal of stomach butterflies, jumpy heartbeats, racing pulses, and having to watch my step.
- Then it turned and ran, the camera portraying a jumpy image as the guy ran.
- Until we had moved three of four more stops up the line it was a jumpy, hesitant, tedious process.
Synonyms
jerky, jolting;
lurching, bumpy, jarring;
fitful, convulsive
rare jouncing
Derivatives
jumpily
- US troops have proved unwilling to halt the anarchy, concentrating instead on securing their positions and jumpily watching out for potential attackers, notably suicide bombers.
- ‘You just fell on the floor and started screaming,’ Josh said jumpily.
- The man jumpily ran up, and shook my hand violently.
jumpiness
/ noun ...- Nevertheless, the fluidity of the text is generally not powerful enough to overcome the greater sense of disjointedness and jumpiness.
- There has been a lot of this jumpiness about headlines and movies lately.
- Difficulty sleeping, eating, or concentrating, irritability, and jumpiness - especially when a plane flies overhead or when around tall buildings - are all possible symptoms.