adjective tenser tens′er, tensest tens′·est

1. stretched tight; strained; taut
2. feeling, showing, or causing mental strain; anxious
3. Phonet. articulated with the jaw and tongue muscles relatively rigid: said of certain vowels, as (ē) and (o̵̅o̅)

Etymology: L tensus, pp. of tendere, to stretch < IE *tend- < base *ten-, to stretch > thin

transitive verb, intransitive verb tensed, tensing tens′·ing

noun

1. a characteristic of verbs that indicates the time of the action or state of being that a verb expresses; also, an analytic category based on this characteristic
2. any of the forms a verb takes to indicate this characteristic
3. a set of such forms for a given time reference the present tense of “be”

Etymology: ME < OFr tens < L tempus, time: see temper