war of nerves



war of nerves

A conflict characterized by psychological pressure such as threats and rumors, aiming to undermine an enemy's morale. For example, Her lawyer said the university had waged a war of nerves to persuade his client to resign . This expression alludes to tactics used in World War II. [Late 1930s]
See also: nerve, of, war

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
Glyn-Welsh
Roxanerok-SAHN (French), rahk-SAN (English)French, English, Ancient Greek
Izabel-Portuguese (Brazilian)
Crescenzo-Italian
BernÁT-Hungarian
Rana (1)-Arabic