Nervously means in a way that shows worry or fear. Laughed nervously, glanced nervously, waiting nervously.
It is a favourite of fiction, where somebody nervously doing anything tells the reader the state without stating it. Nervous laughter is the commonest signal there is, and it means the opposite of amusement.
1adverbnervouslyIn a way that shows worry or fear.
“He glanced nervously at the clock as the exam came to an end.”
nervously is a manner.
Also accepted in games: anxiously
Proto-Indo-European
*(s)neh₁-
Proto-Indo-European
*snéh₁wr̥ — sinew, tendon
Latin
nervōsus — nervous; sinewy; energetic, vigorous
Middle English
nervous — composed of or incorporating nerves
English
nervous
English, today
nervously
Built from
From nervous + -ly. nervous comes from Middle English nervous (“composed of or incorporating nerves”), from Latin nervōsus (“nervous; sinewy; energetic, vigorous”), from nervus (“nerve; muscle; sinew, tendon; (figuratively) energy, power; nerve; force, strength, vigour”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European snéh₁wr̥ (“sinew, tendon”)) + -ōsus. The English word is analysable as nerve + ous.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA