tense
1 Americanadjective
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tenser,
comparative
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tensest
superlative
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stretched tight, as a cord, fiber, etc.; drawn taut; rigid.
-
in a state of mental or nervous strain; high-strung; taut.
a tense person.
-
characterized by a strain upon the nerves or feelings.
a tense moment.
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Phonetics. pronounced with relatively tense tongue muscles; narrow.
verb (used with or without object)
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tenses,
present (3rd person singular)
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tensed,
past participle, past
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tensing
present participle
noun
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tenses
plural
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a category of verbal inflection that serves chiefly to specify the time of the action or state expressed by the verb.
-
a set of such categories or constructions in a particular language.
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the time, as past, present, or future, expressed by such a category.
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such categories or constructions, or their meanings collectively.
adjective
-
stretched or stressed tightly; taut or rigid
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under mental or emotional strain
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producing mental or emotional strain
a tense day
-
(of a speech sound) pronounced with considerable muscular effort and having relatively precise accuracy of articulation and considerable duration Compare lax
in English the vowel (iː) in ``beam'' is tense
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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tenselessnessnoun
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tensenessnoun
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tenselessadjective
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untensingadjective
-
tenselesslyadverb
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tenselyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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tensesimple
-
tensessimple
-
have tensedperfect
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has tensedperfect
-
am tensingprogressive
-
are tensingprogressive
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is tensingprogressive
-
have been tensingperfect progressive
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has been tensingperfect progressive
Past
-
tensedsimple
-
had tensedperfect
-
was tensingprogressive
-
were tensingprogressive
-
had been tensingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of tense1
First recorded in 1660–70; from Latin tēnsus, past participle of tendere “to stretch”; see tend 1
Origin of tense2
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English tens, from Middle French, from Latin tempus “time”
Explanation
When something's stretched tight, it's tense. A rope can be tense. So can a muscle. When a person's tense, they're anxious. When a situation is tense, you might say you could "cut the tension with a knife." When a muscle tenses up, it contracts suddenly–-a person can be said to tense up also. The opposite of tense is "relaxed." If you tense up during exams, it's probably best to learn some relaxation techniques. The brain works best when it's relaxed.
Vocabulary lists containing tense
A Long Walk to Water
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TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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Language and Grammar - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
And people are tense about their job prospects, with many staying where they are for now because hiring is tepid.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026
Yet, this tense adventure makes a strong case that bad parents can still teach good lessons, even when a kid strives to live in opposition to their folks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
At a tense board meeting, Mashburn chastised California Forever for the rush but voted to endorse a compromise bill.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
It’s the reason so many of us walk to our cars with our keys poking through our fingers, why we tense up when someone walks too closely behind us on a dark street.
From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2026
She laughed in a way that even Clara realized sounded really tense.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
“When I’m frustrated and my eyes roll and my voice tenses, they feel that,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026
Mr. Drout analyzes with clarity and humor Tolkien’s fascination with Finnish grammar, the distinctive ways he uses pronouns and the particular verb tenses he favors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025
Simon Cheng still visibly tenses when he describes his detention in China.
From New York Times ● May 27, 2024
As the ants mount their attack, the juvenile beetle tenses its muscles and expels a drop of bright red fluid.
From Science Magazine ● Mar. 12, 2024
I watch as Mama sits upright in her chair, and Baba tenses.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
And this reaction evokes the challenge CNN faces as its news team barrels into a national election cycle that's already looking tenser and more fraught than 2020's or 2022's nailbiters.
From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2023
Things got tenser when Hyundai and LG Energy Solution announced a $4.3 billion electric battery plant in May at Hyundai’s new complex.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 27, 2023
As time ticks on, the mood grows tenser.
From New York Times ● Nov. 11, 2022
Even as political relations have grown tenser, business ties have flourished.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 3, 2022
“Four, three, two . “Oppenheimer, on whom had rested a very heavy burden, grew tenser as the last seconds ticked off,” remembered Farrell.
From "Bomb" by Steve Sheinkin
But combine that with spectacular writing, which delivered one of the tensest season finales in recent memory, and I’m anxious to find out what’s next.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 23, 2022
Norway's prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre describes this as the tensest security situation the country has faced in decades.
From BBC ● Nov. 18, 2022
The tensest moment of the debate was when Bolsonaro called da Silva to stand next to him as he answered a question.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 29, 2022
Now, as Angola approaches its closest and tensest election since multi-party democracy arrived in 1992, the "library" has also become a spot where young Angolans debate their country's future -- and lament its many failures.
From Reuters ● Aug. 23, 2022
The next forty-eight hours, Hitler later confessed, were the tensest of his life.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
When her sister, Rowe, walked in that morning, she found Waldorf with her eyes wide and glazed over, her jaw tensed.
From Salon ● May 27, 2026
Giving evidence at Liverpool Crown Court, Amaaz said he tensed up as he was grabbed by the arm and recognised it was a police officer when he turned round.
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026
Even the way my neck tensed up — I couldn’t, move my neck after some of these days because you’re straining.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 1, 2026
Most major office buildings, include Elephant’s, had an earthquake protocol; upon detecting a quake, microfibers in the walls tensed up to enforce the structure of the building.
From Slate ● Jan. 27, 2024
After a moment she tensed and let out a low bark.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
After a difficult doctor’s appointment with her mother recently, Thompson says she felt her whole body tensing up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 29, 2025
"Sometimes, I catch myself tensing up," Justin said.
From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2023
“I’m tensing up. There’s a lot of stuff I can do to protect myself.”
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 8, 2023
"I was shocked and a little embarrassed at how quickly the game had me tensing my arms and starting to feel achy about going up a virtual mountain!" he laughs.
From BBC ● Feb. 21, 2023
I spent an anxious afternoon, tensing at the sound of every motor, for only the police, Germans, and NSBers had automobiles nowadays.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
