The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms - nerve n.

1) courage, coolness, boldness, bravery, intrepidity, determination, valour, daring, fearlessness, dauntlessness, pluck, mettle, spirit, fortitude, will, tenacity, steadfastness, staunchness, firmness, doughtiness, resoluteness, Colloq guts, grit, gumption, spunk, US sand, Brit bottle, US moxie , Taboo slang balls: It took a lot of nerve to go back into that burning building. 2) effrontery, brazenness, gall, impertinence, brass, impudence, insolence, audacity, brashness, presumption, presumptuousness, temerity, Colloq cheek, sauce, chutzpah, Slang crust: You have a lot of nerve, talking to your mother that way! 3 get on someone's nerves. annoy, irritate, upset: That loud rock music gets on my nerves. 4) nerves. tension, nervousness, hysteria, anxiety, fretfulness, stress, worry, apprehension, fright, Colloq the jitters, Slang the willies, the heebie-jeebies, US the whim-whams: I had a bad case of nerves before learning the doctor's diagnosis.