tense
tense1 definition
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
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
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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