stage fright

noun

: nervousness felt at appearing before an audience

Examples of stage fright in a Sentence

She got over her stage fright by the second act. I get stage fright whenever I have to speak in front of a large group of people.
Recent Examples on the Web Unfortunately, Athena, who suffers from stage fright, didn't give them much to work with. Kimi Robinson, USA TODAY, 18 Mar. 2024 Adding to that, Hader (who, in reality, suffered from debilitating stage fright on the show) was every bit the glue Hartman was, his precise and steady comic rhythm and timing the unwavering metronome that sketch after sketch played along to. Dennis Perkins, EW.com, 14 Dec. 2023 As Kane recently told Jennifer Hudson, the two-year-old already has a bit of stage fright. Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 4 Mar. 2024 According to a Facebook post announcing the duo’s participation, Carter auditioned for Open Call to help her mom with her stage fright. Julia Daye, Sacramento Bee, 26 Feb. 2024 Adele has discussed her battles with stage fright and admittedly doesn’t have easy relationship with full-scale touring. Lars Brandle, Billboard, 31 Jan. 2024 That experience with Chaplin left her with lifelong stage fright. Wesley Morris, New York Times, 7 Nov. 2023 Her struggle with stage fright was so intense that after forgetting lyrics during a 1967 concert in Central Park, Streisand avoided public performances for nearly three decades. Analisa Novak, CBS News, 6 Nov. 2023 The prospect of staging gives some owners stage fright. Wendy A. Jordan, Washington Post, 23 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stage fright.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1876, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of stage fright was in 1876

Dictionary Entries Near stage fright

Cite this Entry

“Stage fright.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stage%20fright. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

stage fright

noun
: nervousness felt at appearing before an audience
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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