Definition

1. Adjective:
   • In a state of anxious suspense or nervous apprehension: Describes a persistent feeling of worry or fear about a potential danger or negative outcome that feels imminent. It implies being constantly on edge.
   • On tenterhooks: To be in a state of nervous or anxious anticipation, waiting for something uncertain to happen.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Con đi lâu, cả nhà lo nơm nớp. (The child has been gone a long time, the whole family is on tenterhooks with worry.)
  • Cô ấy sống nơm nớp vì sợ bị phát hiện. (She lives in a state of anxious suspense, afraid of being discovered.)
  • Người dân nơm nớp lo sợ trước cơn bão. (The residents are in a state of nervous apprehension ahead of the storm.)

Advanced Usage

• The word is often used with verbs like "lo" (to worry), "sợ" (to fear), or "sống" (to live) to intensify the description of a continuous anxious state.
  • Anh ấy luôn nơm nớp canh cánh bên lòng. (He is always in a state of constant, nagging anxiety.)

Variants and Related Words

• Lo nơm nớp (phrasal adjective): To be worried sick, to be anxiously worried.
  • Mẹ lo nơm nớp chờ tin con. (The mother waited anxiously for news of her child.)

Synonyms

• Apprehensive: Anxious or fearful that something bad will happen.
• On edge: Nervous, tense, or irritable.
• In suspense: In a state of anxious uncertainty while awaiting an outcome.

Related Idioms

• Tim đập chân run: (Heart pounding, legs trembling) - Describes a state of extreme nervousness or fear, which can be a result of feeling "nơm nớp".
  • Cô ấy bước vào phòng thi, tim đập chân run vì đã nơm nớp cả tuần. (She entered the exam room with her heart pounding and legs trembling, having been on tenterhooks all week.)

1. [Be] on tenterhooks, [be] in a state of suspense
   • Con đi lâu, cả nhà lo nơm nớp
     To be in a state of anxious suspense because one's child has been long to return