hypertension
Americannoun
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Pathology.
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elevation of the blood pressure, especially the diastolic pressure.
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an arterial disease characterized by this condition.
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excessive or extreme emotional tenseness.
noun
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Abnormally high blood pressure, especially in the arteries. High blood pressure increases the risk for heart attack and stroke.
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Also called high blood pressure
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of hypertension
Explanation
If you've got hypertension, you've got high blood pressure, and you're likely to be on medication to bring it down to a safe level. Hyper- is a prefix that means "over" or "beyond" — if you're hyper you're wildly energetic. Tension means "stretching" or "straining." Hypertension, therefore, means "straining beyond." With hypertension, your blood pressure is abnormally high, causing a strain on your blood vessels. This condition can result in serious health problems, such as heart attack and stroke.
Vocabulary lists containing hypertension
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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.
Results are published in the American Journal of Hypertension.
From Science Daily • Dec. 12, 2025
“Older people too. Hypertension, high cholesterol, low-back pain and so on. It is becoming unusual for me to meet a patient who does not have a trail of prior diagnoses.”
From Salon • May 13, 2025
Hypertension affects more than half of America’s adult population.
From Seattle Times • May 20, 2024
The blood pressure study, supported by Eli Lilly and published on Monday in the journal Hypertension, was part of a larger effort to assess tirzepatide’s effects on weight loss.
From New York Times • Feb. 5, 2024
As in: Hypertension can affect all types of people, but you have a higher risk if someone in your family has had the disease.
From "The Crossover" by Kwame Alexander
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.
