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.
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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.
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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
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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
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(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
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tenselesslyadverb
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tenselyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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tensesimple
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tensessimple
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have tensedperfect
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has tensedperfect
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am tensingprogressive
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are tensingprogressive
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is tensingprogressive
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have been tensingperfect progressive
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has been tensingperfect progressive
Past
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tensedsimple
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had tensedperfect
-
was tensingprogressive
-
were tensingprogressive
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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:
Recovering impressively both physically and mentally from that shock, she showed great maturity to hold off Hodgkinson in the tense closing stages - while breaking a championship record that had stood since 1982.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
In recent weeks, the mayor’s relations with fellow Democratic politicians have grown more tense.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
He effectively lived without a past, in permanent present tense.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026
The episode ends with a tense confrontation between the two characters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
In those tense minutes after the low-fuel warning light came on, Valentina and Marina discussed all the possible alternative destinations they could think of—but they didn’t have enough fuel to get to any of them.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
“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
As the ants start to attack, the larva tenses its muscles and expels a drop of bright red fluid known as hemolymph.
From Science Magazine ● Mar. 15, 2024
Viramontes’ prose jumps between tenses, perspectives and styles so much you find yourself reading each story multiple times — to understand it but also to sit in awe of her gorgeous dexterity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 11, 2023
One day we worked on verb tenses: “I surf the Net, I surfed the Net, I was surfing the Net.”
From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson
“As the night progressed, it got tenser and tenser. There were just more cops on all sides. It felt like we were being slowly pushed in and crushed,” said Ocean Muir, a sophomore.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 25, 2024
But while the players and management are visibly tenser than at their Le Touquet training base, the messaging remains consistent.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2023
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
“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
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
The genuine tenderness between them, undergirding even their tensest interactions, is ultimately what makes their co-starring turns so memorable.
From New York Times ● Oct. 21, 2022
Amid its tensest standoff with the West since the Cold War, Russia plans to give its nuclear weapons apparatus a practice run this weekend.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 18, 2022
He speaks in the tensest voice I’ve ever heard him use.
From "Before We Were Free" by Julia Alvarez
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
It was too expensive to keep the fibers tensed all the time, plus it interfered with the electricity—but for earthquake-length bursts of time, the building and its occupants would be safe.
From Slate ● Jan. 27, 2024
I tensed, waiting for Jenna’s protests, but she only shrugged.
From "Keep It Together, Keiko Carter" by Debbi Michiko Florence
That feeling can present in many ways — rumination, a knot in your throat or your chest, an unease in your stomach, the tensing of muscles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2026
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
Reading that letter, it was like I’d been tensing my whole body for all of my twelve years, and now I could finally relax.
From "From the Desk of Zoe Washington" by Janae Marks
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
