nervous

Name: nervous, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/ˈnɜːvəs/

//ˈnɜːvəs// adj

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed September 3, 2026

The verdict

“nervous” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,513. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,513
frequency rank, English: 1,534
“N” headwords: 10
tracked misspellings: 2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of sinews and tendons.

Corpus desk

Index EN-nervous · nervous · English

nervous · rank #3,513 · 10 variants · 2 confusables

FREQ-COMMON #3,513
LEN-LONG 7 letters
VOW-3 3 vowels
CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
VAR-MID 10 variants
BOOK-MID 1,534
PHOTO-FINISH na

Nearest frequency peer: na (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

morgan

96,491
Moscow

96,490
na

96,489
nervous

96,488
newly

96,487
odd

96,486

What this shows Bars show where “nervous” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

nervous vs nervously

78% similar

nervous vs nerves

71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for nervous
Property	Value
Headword	nervous
Language	English
Part of speech	Adjective
IPA	/ˈnɜːvəs/
Letters	7
Frequency rank	#3,513
Misspellings tracked	10
Confusable pairs	2
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “nervous” sits in English frequency

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).nervouslands here:

#3,513

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “na” (#3,512), “newly” (#3,514), “Moscow” (#3,511). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around nervous (IPA /ˈnɜːvəs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #3,513 among 1,534 “N” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for nervous, with forms such as "enrvous", "nerovus", and "nerrvous". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "nervously", "nerves", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English nervous (“composed of or incorporating nerves”), from Latin nervōsus (“nervous; sinewy; energetic, vigorous”), from nervus (“nerve; muscle; sinew, tendon; (figuratively) energy, power; nerve; force, strength, vigour”) (ultimately from Pr… The correct English form is nervous, spelled N-E-R-V-O-U-S.

Definition

1
Of sinews and tendons.
2
Of sinews and tendons.
3
Of sinews and tendons.
4
Of nerves.
5
Of nerves.
6
Of nerves.
7
Of nerves.
8
Of nerves.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how nervous appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

[T]here is nothing in marble equal to the Venus of Medici, for ſoftneſs and tenderneſs; as there is nothing ſo ſtrong and nervous, as the Hercules Farneſe.
Fortescutus illustratus, or a commentary on that nervous treatise De Laudibus Legum Angliæ […] [book title]

Etymology

From Middle English nervous (“composed of or incorporating nerves”), from Latin nervōsus (“nervous; sinewy; energetic, vigorous”), from nervus (“nerve; muscle; sinew, tendon; (figuratively) energy, power; nerve; force, strength, vigour”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *snéh₁wr̥ (“sinew, tendon”)) + -ōsus (suffix meaning ‘full of, prone to’ forming adjectives from nouns). The English word is analysable as nerve + -ous.

This word in other languages

nervioso(Español)nerveux(Français)nervös(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

enrvous
nerovus
nerrvous
nervosu
nervouss
nervuos
nervvous
nevrous
nnervous
nrevous

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of nervous - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

Edit distance from "nervous"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "nervous"?

"nervous" is spelled N-E-R-V-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈnɜːvəs/.

What does "nervous" mean?

As an adjective, "nervous" means: Of sinews and tendons.

What words are commonly confused with "nervous"?

"nervous" is commonly confused with "nervously", "nerves". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "nervous"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nervous" is /ˈnɜːvəs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What is the origin of the word "nervous"?

From Middle English nervous (“composed of or incorporating nerves”), from Latin nervōsus (“nervous; sinewy; energetic, vigorous”), from nervus (“nerve; muscle; sinew, tendon; (figuratively) energy, power; nerve; force, strength, vigour”) (ultimate... See the full etymology section above for more details.

Is PlainSpell free to use?

Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "nervous", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

hunting#3,500 Houston#3,498 stomach#3,529 whoever#3,539

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

struck10 variants amounts10 variants diamond10 variants colonel10 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "nervous". Here's where to go from here.

"nervous" maps to 2 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "nervously". View pair
10 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
Usage frequency rank #3,513 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
Browse more English words in the "N" letter cohort. N–Z browse
PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.