Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Tending to be very anxious and easily agitated.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Strung to a high pitch; in a state of great tension; high-spirited: having a sensitive or highly organized nervous system.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Strung to a high pitch; spirited; sensitive.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective
Nervous ;anxious ;excited orexcitable .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective being in a tense state
Etymologies
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Examples
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Gilchrist has an appealing diffidence as the high-strung kid, and Roberts is also good as a tough, vulnerable young woman.
Marshall Fine: HuffPost Review: It's Kind of a Funny Story Marshall Fine 2010
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When Russell, a young, high-strung boy from a wilderness troop, stows away on the airborne house, the adventure just begins as the two of them (and a talking dog named Dug) find themselves in a race to save a rare and magnificent bird from a twisted explorer.
[REVIEW] Disney-Pixar’s ‘UP’ on Blu-Ray « Giant Killer Squid - Film, Comics, News, Reviews and more 2009
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For horses, who are high-strung and nervous to begin with, the stress of "killer" auctions and the journey to slaughter is a nightmare.
Ingrid Newkirk: Thoroughbreds: From Elite to Meat Ingrid Newkirk 2011
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Gilchrist has an appealing diffidence as the high-strung kid, and Roberts is also good as a tough, vulnerable young woman.
Marshall Fine: HuffPost Review: It's Kind of a Funny Story Marshall Fine 2010
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If I spread myself too thin, I'm not a good actor, I'm not a good mother, and I'm just really high-strung -- and everybody hates me.
Katherine Heigl: Husband Josh Kelley 'Can Be Very Self-Absorbed' Katy Hall 2010
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For horses, who are high-strung and nervous to begin with, the stress of "killer" auctions and the journey to slaughter is a nightmare.
Ingrid Newkirk: Thoroughbreds: From Elite to Meat Ingrid Newkirk 2011
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Do you find it challenging or liberating (or both) to create such high-strung suspense in your storytelling?
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She motored through the door five minutes late and appeared a bit high-strung, which subsided as she gulped down a liter of medium-roasted coffee with 10 splenda and a splash of cream.
A Candid Line of Questioning Candid Engineer 2009
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Mr. Bertucelli said Mr. Laffer was "high-strung" during games, "very competitive and very focused."
Arrest in Drug Killings Sean Gardiner 2011
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"If I spread myself too thin, I'm not a good actor, I'm not a good mother, and I'm just really high-strung -- and everybody hates me."
Katherine Heigl: Husband Josh Kelley 'Can Be Very Self-Absorbed' Katy Hall 2010
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