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Glite Dictionary
highly strung

highly strung

1 7.4
Someone who is very nervous and easily upset
  • adjective
translation icon : muy nervioso
  • After the stressful week at work, he felt highly strung and anxious.
  • very highly strung

And I had this young horse who was very quite highly strung, thoroughbred.

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Examples

  • I have mentioned that publishers are sensitive and highly strung.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • Those little dogs are very highly strung.

    The Theory of the Leisure Class (2001)

  • I drink because I am a sensitive and highly-strung person!

    The First Wives Club (1996)

  • All publishers are sensitive, highly strung men.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • You're a little highly-strung maybe.

    The Ring (2002)

  • She's always been highly strung.

    Howards End (1992)

  • She is highly strung, so even small changes can upset her easily.

  • The highly strung actor often took breaks to manage her nerves.

Synonyms

uptight
vshighly strung
  • Informal
77 5.0

Nervous and tense so you cannot relax

is more about being easily upset and emotionally sensitive
jumpy
vshighly strung
  • Informal
54 4.3

Feeling nervous and easily startled by sudden sounds

is broader nervous tension rather than a focus on startle reactions
edgy
vshighly strung
41 5.2

Feeling nervous and tense, easily upset

is more extreme and also suggests quick upset from stress
taut
vshighly strung
30 4.8

Stretched tight and showing physical or emotional tension

applies specifically to people being very nervous and easily upset
jittery
vshighly strung
26 4.5

Feeling nervous and unable to stay still

is mainly emotional sensitivity rather than physical restlessness
high-strung
vshighly strung
12 7.2

Being very nervous and easily upset

has identical meaning but differs in form or phrasing
nervy
vshighly strung
1 6.5

Feeling worried and tense before a difficult event

is stronger, implying greater sensitivity and tendency to become upset
overstrung
vshighly strung
8.2

Feeling very nervous and tense because of worry

shares meaning but is a different variant of the same idea
high-keyed
vshighly strung
8.3

Easily excited and quickly become anxious

is more about sensitivity and nervous tension than excitability

Antonyms

calm
735 1.0

Not showing strong feelings and being very still

relaxed
241 1.0

Calm and not worried

How Nervous

hysterical
  • Informal
163 3.9
highly strung
1 7.4
nervous
∞ 1.3
tense
310 3.6
calm
735 1.0

Surface Forms

highly strung positive

Morphology

highly + strung

The intensifier 'highly' is transparent, but 'strung' in its literal sense ('attached to a string') does not directly mean 'nervous' — the phrase relies on a metaphor of tension (like a taut string) to yield 'tense, easily upset.' That metaphorical leap is partially inferable but not fully predictable for a B1 learner who has not seen the idiom, so prior exposure helps.

Etymology

Highly strung may come from the image of a musical instrument with high, tightly strung strings. Like those tight strings, a person is tense and can 'snap' easily, so the phrase means 'very nervous'.