Meaning & use
stage fright
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Meaning
noununcountable
A feeling of fear or nervousness that someone experiences when they have to perform in front of an audience.
Grammar: No article and no plural: 'She suffers from stage fright', not 'a stage fright'.
Patterns
- get stage fright
- have stage fright
- suffer from stage fright
- a bad case of stage fright
Even experienced actors sometimes get stage fright before a big show.
He forgot his lines because stage fright made his mind go blank.
She took a few deep breaths to control her stage fright.
Common combinations
- get stage fright
- I always get stage fright right before I walk on stage.
- suffer from stage fright
- Many musicians suffer from stage fright at some point in their careers.
- a bad case of stage fright
- She had such a bad case of stage fright that she almost cancelled the concert.
- overcome stage fright
- With practice, most people can overcome stage fright.
- stage fright sets in
- The stage fright set in as soon as the curtain went up.
Synonyms and how they differ
- nerves
- Nerves is a more general word for nervousness in any situation, while stage fright is specifically about performing in front of people.
- performance anxiety
- Performance anxiety is a more formal, technical term often used in psychology; stage fright is the everyday phrase.
- butterflies
- Butterflies (in your stomach) suggests a mild, fluttery feeling; stage fright is stronger and can be crippling.
Opposites
Word family
- stage-frightened adjective
- Feeling nervous about performing; less common than the noun.
Commonly confused: stage fright or stage fear?
stage fright vs stage fear
Stage fear is not a standard English phrase; the correct term is stage fright.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence:
Choose one answer.
Stage fright is uncountable, so it is used without 'a' or 'an' and with verbs like 'get' or 'have'. 'Got stage fright' is the natural collocation. The other options either use an article incorrectly or use a verb that does not collocate.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “stage fright”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.