Nerve-wreck

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Alternative form of nerve rack. alt-of, alternative

    "It stands not far under these circumstances from the lunatic asylum and leaves a memory of nerve-wreck, or even of cowardice, which does not minister to self-respect."

  2. 2
    A person who is debilitated by stress.

    "Behold the triumph of hypnotic mystification by the might of which the vacuous become profound and the flabby-willed nerve-wreck a heroine of dauntless faith!"

Example

More examples

"It stands not far under these circumstances from the lunatic asylum and leaves a memory of nerve-wreck, or even of cowardice, which does not minister to self-respect."

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.