Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to keep someone on edge

to keep someone on edge

4 7.4
Make someone feel nervous and unsure about what will happen
  • idiom
  • Informal
: mantener a alguien en vilo
  • "It keeps you on the edge and always competitive, which is a good thing in any training environment—when you're interacting with friends, then it's not frustrating," Nielsen said.
  • keep the audience on edge of their seats

Examples

  • Her stern, businesslike manners certainly kept Bill on edge.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • The suspenseful movie kept me on edge until the very end.

  • Just trying to keep us on edge.

    The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 (2011)

  • Plenty of unexpected events keep the reader on the edge of their seat.

    Blog text (17)

  • It will keep you on the edge of your seat.

    Fright Night (1985)

  • Where a string of burglaries is keeping homeowners on edge.

    Candy (2017)

  • If you're a fan of horror that keeps you on the edge of your seat and tries to make you jump out of it more than once, absolutely.

    Blog text (17)

  • Being around Walt made her nervous, and she was honest enough to admit it wasn't only his well-deserved contempt that kept her on edge.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • The thrilling novel will keep you on edge with its unexpected twists.

  • She tells stories that keep everyone on edge, eager to find out what happens next.

Synonyms

to worry
vsto keep someone on edge
187 1.0

To make someone feel nervous or upset about possible problems

creates suspenseful nervousness and uncertainty rather than concern about specific problems
to unsettle
vsto keep someone on edge
20 4.9

To make someone feel worried or uneasy

creates a suspenseful mix of excitement and uncertainty rather than plain unease
to give someone chills
vsto keep someone on edge
17 5.8

To cause a sudden feeling of fear or strong excitement that makes someone shiver

creates sustained suspenseful nervous excitement rather than causing brief shivering reactions
to agitate
vsto keep someone on edge
14 4.8

To make people feel strongly excited or upset

produces suspenseful nervousness and uncertainty rather than broad emotional turmoil
to unnerve
vsto keep someone on edge
9 6.3

To make someone feel nervous and less confident

creates suspenseful nervousness and uncertainty rather than lowering confidence
to send shivers down someone's spine
vsto keep someone on edge
  • Informal
4 6.0

Cause someone to feel a sudden strong fear or excitement

creates ongoing suspenseful nervousness rather than a brief sudden physical shock
to send chills down someone's spine
vsto keep someone on edge
  • Informal
3 5.9

Make someone feel a sudden strong fear or excitement

creates ongoing suspenseful tension and excitement rather than sudden dread
to perturb
vsto keep someone on edge
1 7.0

To make someone feel worried or uneasy

creates suspenseful nervous tension rather than a formal or technical disturbance

Antonyms

to reassure
123 3.4

To make someone feel less worried and more confident

How Tense

to terrify
63 3.2
to frighten
200 1.0
to keep someone on edge
  • Informal
4 7.4
to unsettle
20 4.9

Surface Forms

keep someone on edge infinitive
kept someone on edge past
kept someone on edge past participle
keeping someone on edge present participle
keeps someone on edge third person singular

Morphology

keep + someone + on + edge

The verb 'keep' (to maintain) combined with the locative phrase 'on edge' (metaphorical use of 'edge' to mean tense/nervous) gives a recognisable sense of maintaining someone's tension, so part of the meaning is derivable from the parts. However, 'on edge' is a conventionalized metaphorical idiom whose specific sense (nervous/excited uncertainty) is not fully predictable from the literal 'edge' for an average B1 learner without prior exposure, so it is only partially transparent.

Etymology

The phrase keep someone on edge comes from the image of a person standing on an edge, almost ready to fall, so they feel tense and ready for anything. That's why it means 'to make someone feel excited, nervous, or uncertain'.