Is the phrase nerve wracking or nerve racking?
Nerve-racking and nerve-wracking are alternate spellings of the same adjective, referring to something stressful or anxiety-inducing. Nerve-racking is the common word preferred to describe stressful situations while wrack means damage and destruction and unless you are talking about damage, nerve-racking is to be used.
Is it racking or wracking?
The spelling ‘rack’ is now used in all senses except for the seaweed called wrack. So it’s “rack and ruin,” … “racking my brains,” and so on. Some other usage guides provide a way of dealing with this question that has a certain brutal charm: just stop using the word wrack.
What does nerve wracking mean?
: extremely trying on the nerves a nerve-racking ordeal The job interview was a nerve-racking experience.
How do you use nerve wracking in a sentence?
Nerve-wracking sentence example
- It was nerve wracking not to know what was happening.
- You can get up close in a flat-bottomed skiff – but prepare yourself for a pretty nerve-wracking experience.
- Asking someone to dance is always nerve-wracking, whether you’re a boy or a girl.
Does nerve wracking have aw?
The most correct and original way to spell this word is nerve-racking (no ‘w’). Nerve-wracking is an accepted alternative spelling. However, some purists may consider this variant incorrect. Nerve-wracking and nerve-racking are both found in American and British English content.
Is nerve wracking formal?
“Nerve-racking” is the original and correct spelling of this phrase, which describes something that makes you extremely nervous. “Nerve-wracking” is a widely-used and well-established variant spelling. Many editors and usage dictionaries find it acceptable, but purists and prescriptivists consider it an error.
Is it wrack your brain or wrack your brain?
The expression “to go to wrack and ruin” means to fall into a state of decay or destruction. The written form “wrack one’s brains” is, therefore, incorrect.
What’s the difference between nerve racking and nerve wrecking?
extremely irritating, annoying, or trying: a nerve-racking day; a nerve-racking noise. Nerve-wrecking is a less common variant, probably from a spelling mistake. See Ngram From The Vocabularist: Nerve-racking or nerve-wracking?:
Where does the word nerve wracking come from?
“Nerve-wracking” dates from 1867, as a combination of “nerve” and “wrack”. Nerve is a noun derived from the Proto-Indo-European root (s)neu-, “tendon, sinew.” That evolved through Latin (nervus) and Old French (nerf) to join the English lexicon as “nerve” in the late 1300’s.
Which is the first recorded use of nerve racking?
If something makes you very anxious is it nerve-racking or nerve-wracking? The first recorded use of nerve-racking is in a letter by the poet Shelley in 1812, telling his friend he is glad to be away from the “nerve-racking and spirit-quelling metropolis”.
What can you use instead of nerve wracking?
If you want to avoid writing the phrase nerve-wracking, with or without the “w,” you can use one of its synonyms. You can say, for example, that something is trying or difficult. But you can also use words like distressing or daunting. Stressful might also be a good synonym; even annoying might work.