tense¹ Definition
tense (tens)
adjective tens′er, 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
transitive verb, intransitive verb tensed, tens′·ing
to make or become tense
tense¹ Related Forms
tense² Definition
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
tense Synonyms
tense
modif.
Nervous
agitated, anxious, high-strung, on edge, fluttery, jumpy, jittery; see also excited.Antonyms
calm*, unconcerned*, indifferent. * Stretched tight
tense Usage Examples
Object
- muscle: Anxiety on its own can also lead to leakage by tensing the muscles.
- belief: However, to explain our ability to form tensed beliefs, we must do more than give their contents in tenseless terms.
Adjective modifier
- past: Can you work out the past tenses of the following.
- compound: In compound tenses we need to include the direct object between the subject and the auxiliary verb.
- continuous: This week we covered simple present, present continuous, simple past and past continuous tenses.
- future: Growing ability to use past and future tenses and all parts of grammar.
Modifies a noun
- thriller: What follows is a tense, brutal thriller that leaves you questioning whether Harris's results justify his means.
- standoff: After a tense standoff, at nightfall, the police left, having been thwarted in their attempt to destroy the fields.
- verb: WEEK 2 Test on present tense, irregular verbs.
- climax: With the home support's voice growing, Bath responded through two Olly Barkley penalties to set up a tense climax to the game.
- muscle: Neck Stretch - A good way to loosen tense neck muscles.
- confrontation: In the context of the exceptionally tense confrontation over Kashmir, a small spark could trigger another war.
Modifying Another Word
- unbearably: The point of view shots make these scenes unbearably tense.
- incredibly: During the incredibly tense moments that followed, I read a mixture of emotions in his cautious darting eyes.
- extremely: A true invitation to deep sleep, Sea & Senses is recommended for extremely tense clients.
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.
- remain: Unfortunately, the situation in the Northern Caucasus remains tense.
- become: The whole body picks up on the messages from the fingers, becoming tense, rigid, fixated.
Preposition: of
verb: The tenses of the two verbs in the sending are different.
Browse dictionary entries near tense
- ‹ tenrec
- ‹ tenpounder
- ‹ tenpins
- ‹ tenpin
- ‹ tenpenny
- ‹ tenotomy
- ‹ tenosynovitis
- ‹ tenorrhaphy
- ‹ tenorite
- ‹ tenorist
- tensible ›
- tensile ›
- tensile strength ›
- tensimeter ›
- tensiometer ›
- tension ›
- tensity ›
- tensive ›
- tensor ›
- tent ›

