be ill at ease

be ill at ease

To be nervous or anxious. My sister loves performing, but I'm ill at ease on stage. Fred is ill at ease in big crowds.
See also: ease, ill
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • ill at ease
  • ease
  • cat on a hot tin roof, like a
  • with ease
  • be taken ill
  • fall ill
  • on the in, be
  • be on the in
  • bode somehow for
  • bode well/ill
References in classic literature
And with him one can't be ill at ease. Here he is," she said to herself, seeing his powerful, shy figure, with his shining eyes fixed on her.
Anna Karenina
Many observers feel Recital will be ill at ease competing at Epsom, which is renowned for its unpredictable cambers, after he hung discernibly left when winning the Derrinstown Stud Trial in May.
Play it cool; In brief