A nematic liquid crystal composition includes a compound of formula (1) and a host mixture: wherein ‘R’ is chosen from CnH2n+1O, CnH2n+1, CnH2n+1S or CnH2n−1; ‘n’ is an integer of 1 to 15; ‘A’ is ‘a’ is 0 or 1; ‘B’ is —CH2CH2—, —C═C—, —C≡C— or ‘b’ is 0 or 1; ‘D’ is —CH2CH2—, —C═C— or —C≡C—; ‘d’ is 0 or 1; ‘X’ is H, F, Cl, Br, NCS or CN; and ‘Y’ is from NCS, SCN or F. A liquid crystal display apparatus employing the nematic liquid crystal composition has a high response speed and a high phase transition temperature. In addition, the nematic liquid crystal composition has an augmented birefringence and a dielectric anisotropy. The liquid crystal display apparatus using the nematic liquid crystal composition may have an enhanced brightness.