highly strung

adjective

1. tense and easily upset; excitable; nervous

Example Sentences

"So what it's doing is that it creates a tension between the players. And the players are so highly strung because it's a results-driven sport that they then vent the anger and dissent on to the referee."

From BBC

Aimée Kelly plays the role with a winning blend of caustic humor and narcissistic self-pity: She’s highly strung, manipulative and insecure.

From New York Times

They would describe women as being shrewish and highly strung and shrill and, indeed, hysterical before they underwent the procedure, and then talk about them afterwards being returned to an almost childlike state of blissful ignorance.

From Salon

"Together, they are the highly strung dysfunctional double-act that post-lockdown cinema didn't know it needed," he added in his four-star review.

From BBC

But the dog was weak, and highly strung, and suffered a heart attack one bright December morning in the country, leaping from the porch in happy pursuit of a squirrel.

From Literature