NERVES

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does nerves mean? 

• NERVES (noun)
  The noun NERVES has 2 senses:

1. an uneasy psychological state

2. control of your emotions

  Familiarity information: NERVES used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• NERVES (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An uneasy psychological state

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

nerves; nervousness

Context example:

he suffered an attack of nerves

Hypernyms ("nerves" is a kind of...):

mental condition; mental state; psychological condition; psychological state ((psychology) a mental condition in which the qualities of a state are relatively constant even though the state itself may be dynamic)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "nerves"):

heebie-jeebies; jitters; screaming meemies (extreme nervousness)

mental strain; nervous strain; strain ((psychology) nervousness resulting from mental stress)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Control of your emotions

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Context example:

this kind of tension is not good for my nerves

Hypernyms ("nerves" is a kind of...):

possession; self-command; self-control; self-possession; self-will; will power; willpower (the trait of resolutely controlling your own behavior)

Domain usage:

plural; plural form (the form of a word that is used to denote more than one)

 Context examples 

As it grows, it presses against the hearing and balance nerves.

(Acoustic Neuroma, NIH: National Institute of Deafness and Communication Disorders)

Muscle cramps can be caused by nerves that malfunction.

(Muscle Cramps, NIH)

Sweet it was in one sense, honey-sweet, and sent the same tingling through the nerves as her voice, but with a bitter underlying the sweet, a bitter offensiveness, as one smells in blood.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Neuropathy caused by amyloid deposition in the peripheral nerves.

(Amyloid Neuropathy, NCI Thesaurus)

This it was, the screaming of the women, that most tried my nerves.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Brain tumors can also press on nerves and affect brain function.

(Brain Diseases, NIH)

It happens because of a problem in communication between your nerves and muscles.

(Myasthenia Gravis, NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

The fatty substance that covers and protects nerves.

(Myelin, NCI Dictionary)

He must have nerves of iron.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I must be careful of you, my treasure: nerves like yours were not made for rough handling.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)