on edge

Meaning

on edge

(idiomatic) Tense, nervous; consequently irritable.
Waiting to see who had been chosen, we were all on edge.

Source: en.wiktionary.org

Synonyms

restless nervous tense worried anxious aroused uneasy agitated impatient edgy excitable febrile apprehensive skittish fretful
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Antonyms

pacific even placid collected steady relaxed
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Related terms

edgy set someone's teeth on edge

Examples

You always have to be on edge. You always have to take every practice, every game, like it is your last. Kobe Bryant

There's got to be a backbone, there's got to be a skeleton to the whole way I perform, but you never want to hit the same note twice during a performance, I think. I think it's always got to be fresh so it doesn't bore me, and I always want to go out on edge. Casey Abrams

Prentice: My nerves are on edge. Rance: You should consult a qualified psychiatrist. Prentice: I am a qualified psychiatrist. Rance: You're a fool. That isn't quite the same thing. Though, in your case, the two may have much in common. Joe Orton

On Edge of abyss. Silvio Berlusconi

Weakness is something that rots in the body. Like gangrene. I've felt that ever since I was a teenager. That's why I was always on edge. There's this something inside you that's rotting away and you feel it all along. Haruki Murakami

The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge. Romanian Proverb

Words in the phrase

on edge

Close letter words and terms

on duty on earth on easy street on empty stomach on end on equal footing