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Definition of high-strung adjective from the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

 

high-strung

 adjective
adjective
 
 
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(of a person or an animal) nervous and easily upset Thesaurusnervous
  • neurotic
  • on edge
  • jittery
These words all describe people who are easily frightened or who are behaving in a frightened way.
  • nervous easily worried or frightened; anxious about something or afraid of something:She has a nervous temperament. I felt really nervous about meeting him. See also the entry for worried.
  • neurotic not able to behave in a reasonable, calm way, because you are always worried about something:He became neurotic about keeping the house clean.
  • on edge nervous or bad-tempered, especially because you are worried about what might happen:She was always on edge before an interview.
  • jittery (informal) anxious and nervous about what might happen:All this talk of job losses was making him jittery.
Patterns
  • a nervous/neurotic man/woman/lady/girl/boy
  • to feel nervous/on edge/jittery
  • a bit nervous/on edge/jittery
See high-strung in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary