tense

tense ¹  (tns)

adj. tens·er, tens·est

1. Tightly stretched; taut. See Synonyms at stiff, tight.

2. In a state of mental or nervous tension.

3. Characterized by nervous tension or suspense.

4. Linguistics Enunciated with taut muscles, as the sound () in keen.

tr. & intr.v. tensed, tens·ing, tens·es

To make or become tense.

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[Latin tnsus, past participle of tendere, to stretch; see ten- in Indo-European roots.]

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tensely adv.

tenseness n.

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tense ¹

Adjective

1. having, showing, or causing mental or emotional strain: the tense atmosphere

2. stretched tight: tense muscles

Verb

[tensing, tensed]

Also: (tense up) to make or become tense [Latin tensus taut]

tensely adv
tenseness n

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tense ²

Noun

Grammar the form of a verb that indicates whether the action referred to in the sentence is located in the past, the present, or the future: `ate' is the past tense of `to eat' [Old French tens time]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	tense - a grammatical category of verbs used to express distinctions of time grammatical category, syntactic category - (grammar) a category of words having the same grammatical properties present tense, present - a verb tense that expresses actions or states at the time of speaking aorist - a verb tense in some languages (classical Greek and Sanskrit) expressing action (especially past action) without indicating its completion or continuation past tense, past - a verb tense that expresses actions or states in the past future tense, future - a verb tense that expresses actions or states in the future continuous tense, imperfect, imperfect tense, progressive, progressive tense - a tense of verbs used in describing action that is on-going perfect, perfect tense, perfective, perfective tense - a tense of verbs used in describing action that has been completed (sometimes regarded as perfective aspect)
Verb	1.	tense - become stretched or tense or taut; "the bodybuilder's neck muscles tensed;" "the rope strained when the weight was attached" strain tighten - become tight or tighter; "The rope tightened"
	2.	tense - increase the tension on; "alternately relax and tense your calf muscle"; "tense the rope manually before tensing the spring" alter, change, modify - cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue"
	3.	tense - become tense, nervous, or uneasy; "He tensed up when he saw his opponent enter the room" tense up change state, turn - undergo a transformation or a change of position or action; "We turned from Socialism to Capitalism"; "The people turned against the President when he stole the election" relax, decompress, unwind, loosen up, slow down, unbend - become less tense, rest, or take one's ease; "He relaxed in the hot tub"; "Let's all relax after a hard day's work"
	4.	tense - cause to be tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious; "he got a phone call from his lawyer that tensed him up" tense up, strain affect - act physically on; have an effect upon; "the medicine affects my heart rate" stretch, extend - extend one's limbs or muscles, or the entire body; "Stretch your legs!"; "Extend your right arm above your head" make relaxed, unlax, unstrain, unwind, relax, loosen up - cause to feel relaxed; "A hot bath always relaxes me"
Adj.	1.	tense - in or of a state of physical or nervous tension agitated - troubled emotionally and usually deeply; "agitated parents" uneasy - lacking a sense of security or affording no ease or reassurance; "farmers were uneasy until rain finally came"; "uneasy about his health"; "gave an uneasy laugh"; "uneasy lies the head that wears the crown"; "an uneasy coalition government"; "an uneasy calm"; "an uneasy silence fell on the group" relaxed - without strain or anxiety; "gave the impression of being quite relaxed"; "a relaxed and informal discussion"
	2.	tense - pronounced with relatively tense tongue muscles (e.g., the vowel sound in `beat') phonetics - the branch of acoustics concerned with speech processes including its production and perception and acoustic analysis lax - pronounced with muscles of the tongue and jaw relatively relaxed (e.g., the vowel sound in `bet')
	3.	tense - taut or rigid; stretched tight; "tense piano strings" tight - closely constrained or constricted or constricting; "tight skirts"; "he hated tight starched collars"; "fingers closed in a tight fist"; "a tight feeling in his chest" lax - lacking in strength or firmness or resilience; "a lax rope"; "a limp handshake"

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tense

adjective 1. strained, uneasy, stressful, fraught, charged, difficult, worrying, exciting, uncomfortable, knife-edge, nail-biting, nerve-racking

adjective 2. nervous, wound up (informal) edgy, strained, wired (slang) anxious, under pressure, restless, apprehensive, jittery (informal) uptight (informal) on edge, jumpy, twitchy (informal) overwrought, strung up (informal) on tenterhooks, fidgety, keyed up, antsy (informal) wrought up, adrenalized << OPPOSITE calm

adjective 3. rigid, strained, taut, stretched, tight << OPPOSITE relaxed

verb 4. tighten, strain, brace, tauten, stretch, flex, stiffen << OPPOSITE relax

Translations

tense [tɛns] adj → tenso (= stretched); tirante (= stiff); rígido, tieso; [person] → nervioso

n (LING) → tiempo

vt (= tighten) [+ muscles] → tensar

tense [tɛns] adj → tendu(e); [person] → tendu, crispé(e)

n (Ling) → temps m

vt (= tighten) [+ muscles] → tendre

tense [tɛns] adj [person, muscle] → angespannt; [smile] → verkrampft; [period, situation] → gespannt

n (Ling) → Zeit f, Tempus nt

vt [+ muscles] → anspannen

tense [tɛns] adj → teso/a

n (LING) → tempo

vt (= tighten) [+ muscles] → tendere

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tense¹

n tense [tens]

a form of a verb that shows the time of its action in relation to the time of speaking a verb in the past/future/present tense. tyd صيغَة تَدُل على زَمان حُدوث الفِعْل глаголно време čas tid; -tid die Zeitform (γραμματική) χρόνος tiempo ajavorm زمان aikamuoto temps מָתוּחַ क्रिया का काल glagolsko vrijeme igeidő kala tíð tempo 時制 시제 laikas (gramatikā) laiks kala tijd tid, tempus czas tempo timp время čas (slovesný) glagolski čas vreme tempus, tidsform กาล (เป็นรูปของกริยาแสดงเวลา) fiil zamanı, kip (動詞的)時態 час فعل کا زمانہ thời của động từ （动词的）时态