as in excitable
easily excited by nature
a dog that tends to be high-strung is not the best pet for young children
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Recent Examples of high-strung
Vest has always been high-strung, prone to wearing emotion on his sleeve.
—
Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 11 July 2025
This was also long before Emily Blunt was a household name, so the sass and high-strung nature of her character felt fresh.
—Stephanie Sengwe, People.com, 9 July 2025
A lot went down on Thursday’s new episode of Hacks, but one of the most memorable moments was when Deborah Vance (played by Jean Smart) had an unexpected night out with her dutiful and high-strung assistant, Damien (played by Mark Indelicato).
—Jeff Conway, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2025
Others might be more high-strung, trying to live up to the older sibling's example or carve out their own identity.
—Emily Edlynn, Parents, 8 Jan. 2025
Feeling at home is a strong theme as Buddy tries to build a relationship with his estranged father, a high-strung corporate worker on the naughty list portrayed by Michael Hayden, and make it in the human world.
—Caroline Howe, NBC News, 20 Dec. 2024
In the film, Scrooge is now Frank Cross (Bill Murray), a high-strung, selfish and arrogant TV executive living in Manhattan.
—Keith Langston, People.com, 14 Dec. 2024
The show leaned into the meta-ness of the Lowes playing an eccentric father and high-strung son.
—Jordan Moreau, Variety, 11 Oct. 2024
Charlie, a high-strung, openly gay overthinker, and Nick, a cheerful, soft-hearted rugby player, one day are made to sit together in class.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024
Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 11 July 2025
This was also long before Emily Blunt was a household name, so the sass and high-strung nature of her character felt fresh.
—Stephanie Sengwe, People.com, 9 July 2025
A lot went down on Thursday’s new episode of Hacks, but one of the most memorable moments was when Deborah Vance (played by Jean Smart) had an unexpected night out with her dutiful and high-strung assistant, Damien (played by Mark Indelicato).
—Jeff Conway, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2025
Others might be more high-strung, trying to live up to the older sibling's example or carve out their own identity.
—Emily Edlynn, Parents, 8 Jan. 2025
Feeling at home is a strong theme as Buddy tries to build a relationship with his estranged father, a high-strung corporate worker on the naughty list portrayed by Michael Hayden, and make it in the human world.
—Caroline Howe, NBC News, 20 Dec. 2024
In the film, Scrooge is now Frank Cross (Bill Murray), a high-strung, selfish and arrogant TV executive living in Manhattan.
—Keith Langston, People.com, 14 Dec. 2024
The show leaned into the meta-ness of the Lowes playing an eccentric father and high-strung son.
—Jordan Moreau, Variety, 11 Oct. 2024
Charlie, a high-strung, openly gay overthinker, and Nick, a cheerful, soft-hearted rugby player, one day are made to sit together in class.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for high-strung
Adjective
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Second, from a real-world perspective, if a dog is highly excitable or reactive, certain programming might overstimulate or stress them.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
17 July 2025
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Choreographer Byron Easley is completely in synch with Goldstein’s excitable approach to this material.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
14 July 2025
Adjective
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Joe Mazur, senior analyst at Trivium China, a research and advisory firm, said the use of exit bans and the lack of clarity around specific cases will make foreign companies extremely nervous about sending staff to China, damaging overall business confidence.—
John Liu,
CNN Money,
23 July 2025
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All 11 brought home at least one full point in Rome, the result of their talent but also of a cohesive approach where veteran Justin Rose was willing to be paired with nervous rookie Robert MacIntyre in fourball and sit the foursomes sessions.—
Brody Miller,
New York Times,
23 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“High-strung.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/high-strung. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.
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