tense

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

tense′ly adverb tense′·ness noun

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

modif.

Nervous
agitated, anxious, high-strung, on edge, fluttery, jumpy, jittery; see also excited.
Antonyms calm*, unconcerned*, indifferent. *
Stretched tight
rigid, stiff, firm; see tight 1. See syn. study at tight.

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.

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