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.
Amid jittery markets, our seasoned wealth team stayed the course to produce two other compilations: Korea’s 50 Richest and the annual list of The World’s Billionaires, with its record haul of over 3,000 people with ten-figure fortunes, collectively worth more than $16 trillion. Naazneen Karmali, Forbes.com, 18 Apr. 2025 Relations | Opinion Trump's Tariffs and the Renaissance of American Manufacturing | Opinion Sen. Tuberville: Trump Tariffs Gave America Leverage | Opinion Trump's tariff plans sent a jolt to an already jittery bond market, causing Asian buyers to dump their treasuries. Nicholas Creel, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Apr. 2025 Dropped back into the realm of material still largely defined by types, Malek’s jittery onscreen energy ends up at odds with characters written in broad strokes. Alison Willmore, Vulture, 8 Apr. 2025 America’s jittery European partners are increasingly worried that the erosion could prove terminal. Ned Temko, Christian Science Monitor, 27 Mar. 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 22 Apr. 2025.

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