high-strung

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adjective

high-strung (comparative more high-strung, superlative most high-strung)

1. (informal, idiomatic) Nervous; anxious; excited or excitable.

   Three cups of coffee made him a fidgety and high-strung lecturer.

   • 1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:

     "Why, you're shakin' all over!" "I suppose I wouldn't be a medium if I wasn't high strung."