nerve

noun

Courage; boldness; audacity; gall.

Patience; stamina; endurance, fortitude.

(in the plural) Mental agitation caused by fear, stress or other negative emotions.

(in the plural) One's neural structures considered collectively as, and conceptually equated with, one's psyche.

A bundle of neurons with their connective tissue sheaths, blood vessels and lymphatics.

(botany) A vein in a leaf; a grain in wood.

(polymer technology) The elastic resistance of raw rubber or other polymers to permanent deformation during processing.

(nonstandard, colloquial) A neuron.

(obsolete) Sinew, tendon.

verb

(transitive) To give courage.

(transitive) To give strength; to supply energy or vigour.

(transitive, informal) To perform a neurectomy on (someone or something).

(transitive, informal, rare) To get on (someone’s) nerves; to annoy, irritate, or bother (someone).

(intransitive, informal, rare) To be nervous.

Roots

nervusnerv- · Latin · sinew, nerve

Synonyms for nerve

ganglionn neuronn mettlen boldnessn heartn brainn plexusn

Synonyms & related words for nerve

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of nerve — including ganglion, neuron, mettle, boldness, heart, brain. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to nerve

Explore words related to nerve — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include nerval, neurally, neurilemma, proprioceptor, saphena, innerve, electrotonus, innervating. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for nerve

Common synonyms for nerve include ganglion, neuron, mettle, boldness, heart, brain, plexus — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does nerve come from?

The word nerve breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root nerv-, from Latin nervus (“sinew, nerve”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.