Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

nervous nellie

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.08 in modern English

Syllables: ner-vous nel-lie
IPA

16

Scrabble Score

13

Letters

3

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A person whose personality and behavior are characterized by worry, insecurity, and timidity.

Informal

noun

Alternative spelling of nervous Nellie.

noun

Alternative spelling of nervous Nellie.

Example Sentences

"Political opponents doubted his capacity, referred to him as "too nervous, too worried a little man," and remarked that his Senatorial colleagues used to refer to him humorously as "Nervous Nellie.""
"The captain is a nervous Nellie who can't make a decision without the approval of his protective aide-de-camp."

Usage

Informal

Inflected Forms

nervous Nellies (plural) nervous nelly (alternative)

Phrases

nervous-Nellie Alibi Ike Dapper Dan doubting Thomas Gentleman Jim gloomy Gus good-time Charlie lazy Lawrence

Frequently Paired Words

nervous-Nellie Alibi Ike Dapper Dan doubting Thomas Gentleman Jim gloomy Gus good-time Charlie lazy Lawrence

Synonyms

jitterbug nervous wreck worrywart

Questions

What does nervous nellie mean?: A person whose personality and behavior are characterized by worry, insecurity, and timidity.

How to pronounce nervous nellie

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