Tense

[tens] or [tɛns]

Definition

(noun.) a grammatical category of verbs used to express distinctions of time.

(verb.) cause to be tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious; 'he got a phone call from his lawyer that tensed him up'.

(verb.) become tense, nervous, or uneasy; 'He tensed up when he saw his opponent enter the room'.

(verb.) increase the tension on; 'alternately relax and tense your calf muscle'; 'tense the rope manually before tensing the spring'.

(adj.) taut or rigid; stretched tight; 'tense piano strings' .

(adj.) pronounced with relatively tense tongue muscles (e.g., the vowel sound in `beat') .

(adj.) in or of a state of physical or nervous tension .

Typed by Connie--From WordNet

Definition

(n.) One of the forms which a verb takes by inflection or by adding auxiliary words, so as to indicate the time of the action or event signified; the modification which verbs undergo for the indication of time.

(a.) Stretched tightly; strained to stiffness; rigid; not lax; as, a tense fiber.

Editor: Warren

Synonyms and Synonymous

a. Tight, stretched, strained, TAUGHT, rigid, not loose, not lax.

Typed by Blanche

Definition

adj. strained to stiffness: rigid.—adv. Tense′ly.—ns. Tense′ness state of being tense; Tensibil′ity Tensil′ity quality of being tensile.—adjs. Ten′sible Ten′sile capable of being stretched.—ns. Ten′sion act of stretching: state of being stretched or strained: strain: effort: strain in the direction of the length or the degree of it: mental strain excited feeling: a strained state of any kind; Ten′sion-rod a rod in a structure holding together different parts; Ten′sity tenseness: state of being tense.—adj. Ten′sive giving the sensation of tenseness or stiffness.—n. Ten′sor a muscle that tightens a part.

n. time in grammar the form of a verb to indicate the time of the action.

Edited by Alexander