performance anxiety noun3 •Anxiety or fear about performing in front of an audience; stage fright. •A similar anxiety about the impressiveness of one's sexual performance. •A similar anxiety about one's ability to urinate in the presence of others; paruresis.If someone can hear you, they can hear that you're not doing anything. It's a sort of performance anxiety that builds and feeds on itself. — 1999 formsperformance anxieties