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Definition 2024
nerf
nerf
English
Verb
nerf (third-person singular simple present nerfs, present participle nerfing, simple past and past participle nerfed)
- (motor racing) To bump lightly, whether accidentally or purposefully.
- A racer will often nerf another as a psychological tactic.
Derived terms
Etymology 2
From the trademark NERF, which sold toy guns firing missiles of soft foam, ineffective as actual weapons (1969).
Verb
nerf (third-person singular simple present nerfs, present participle nerfing, simple past and past participle nerfed)
- (slang, video games) To weaken, deteriorate or debuff (a character, a weapon, a spell, etc. or make it worsen) between multiple installments of a series of games or versions of the same game.
- The lightning spell was originally pretty powerful, but in the sequel they nerfed it so it became completely useless.
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Antonyms
Anagrams
Dutch
Etymology 1
From earlier nerve, from Middle Dutch *narwe, from Old Dutch *narwa, from Proto-Germanic *narwō. For the change of -rwe → -rf, compare verf.
Noun
nerf f (plural nerven, diminutive nerfje n)
- grain of wood
Etymology 2
Noun
nerf f (plural nerven, diminutive nerfje n)
French
Etymology
From Middle French nerf, from Old French nerf, from Latin nervus.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /nɛʁ/
Noun
nerf m (plural nerfs)
- (anatomy) nerve
- (figuratively) force, power, strength
- Les nerfs, les garçons! On n'est pas sur un bateau de plaisance. — Put some muscle into it, boys! We are not on a pleasure boat!
Derived terms
Related terms
Old French
Etymology
Noun
nerf m (oblique plural ners, nominative singular ners, nominative plural nerf)
- nerve
- 1303, Bernard de Gordon, Fleur de lis de medecine (a.k.a. lilium medicine), page 185 of this essay:
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Donc lepre est maladie de chair et non pas du cueur, ne des os, de des nerfs etc.
- Therefore leprosy is a disease of the flesh and not of the heart, nor of the bones, nor of the nerves, etc.
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Donc lepre est maladie de chair et non pas du cueur, ne des os, de des nerfs etc.
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