jimjams

9.9

A feeling of nervousness or clothes you wear for sleeping

noun
/ˈdʒɪm.dʒæmz/

Archaic

: nervios

Thinking about the exam tomorrow gives me the jimjams every time.

Examples

She wore her favorite jimjams to the sleepover at her friend's house.
Don't let the jimjams get to you!
He got the jimjams before his big presentation and couldn't stop pacing.
He gets the jimjams before every exam.
He got the jimjams before his big presentation and couldn't stop pacing.
Thinking about the exam tomorrow gives me the jimjams every time.
Don't let the jimjams get to you!

Synonyms

heebie-jeebies

vsjimjams

Slang

9 9.9

A strong nervous or scared feeling that makes you feel uneasy

is similar but also covers milder anxious feelings

jammies

vsjimjams

Baby Talk

1 8.3

Loose soft clothes with a top and pants worn for sleeping or relaxing

is mainly used to mean a nervous feeling rather than clothing

jitters

vsjimjams

Informal

1 5.5

A strong nervous feeling that often comes before an important event

is used for nervous feelings in general rather than just before events

creepies

vsjimjams

Informal

8.9

A nervous, uncomfortable feeling caused by something scary or strange

is about anxious feelings not specifically from fear or spooky causes

Antonyms

calm

735 1.0

Not showing strong feelings and being very still

confidence

456 2.1

A belief that you can do something well

How Nervous

panic

394 2.7

jitters

Informal

1 5.5

anxiety

423 3.5

jimjams

Archaic

9.9

nervousness

36 2.7

unease

19 4.4

Surface Forms

jimjams singular

jimjams plural

jimjam singular

Etymology

Jimjams likely comes from a playful repeating sound, like jim-jam, used to name a small, jumpy feeling of 'nervousness'. A helpful way to remember its sleep meaning is that it sounds like jammies, a common word for 'pyjamas', so jimjams can mean either 'the jitters' or 'pyjamas'.