tense
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tense (tens)
adjective tenser tens′er, tensest tens′·est
- stretched tight; strained; taut
- feeling, showing, or causing mental strain; anxious
- 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
tense (tens)
noun
- 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
- any of the forms a verb takes to indicate this characteristic
- a set of such forms for a given time reference the present tense of “be”
Etymology: ME < OFr tens < L tempus, time: see temper
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
tense
modif.
Nervous
agitated, anxious, high-strung, on edge, fluttery, jumpy, jittery; see also excited.Antonyms
calm*, unconcerned*, indifferent. * Stretched tight
Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Adjective modifier
- past: Can you work out the past tenses of the following.
Modifies a noun
- thriller: What follows is a tense, brutal thriller that leaves you questioning whether Harris's results justify his means.
Modifying Another Word
- unbearably: The point of view shots make these scenes unbearably tense.
Noun used with modifier
- verb: Time lines are also a great way of conveying the meaning of different verb tenses.
Used with adjective complement
- feel: If a certain person makes you feel tense, try to plan to avoid them on the morning of your wedding.
Preposition: of
- verb: The tenses of the two verbs in the sending are different.
The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.
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MLA Style
"tense." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009
- Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
- <www.yourdictionary.com/tense>
APA Style
tense. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary
- Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/tense
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