What does "stage fright" mean?

A state of nervousness about performing some action in front of a group of people, on or off of a stage; nerves; a lack of self-assurance before an audience.

Stage fright

Q: What is a synonym for "stage fright"?

Common synonyms include: afraidness, agitation, apprehensiveness, attack of nerves, bashfulness, buck fever.

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
A state of nervousness about performing some action in front of a group of people, on or off of a stage; nerves; a lack of self-assurance before an audience. uncountable
"I did some guest-speaking at the middle school last year, and I experienced some stage fright before and during my first presentation."
2
fear that affects a person about to face an audience wordnet
3
Synonym of paruresis. euphemistic, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms

afraidness agitation apprehensiveness attack of nerves bashfulness buck fever

Antonyms

All antonyms

speech skill stage presence

Example

More examples

"I did some guest-speaking at the middle school last year, and I experienced some stage fright before and during my first presentation."

Etymology

From stage + fright.

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