tense
1 Americanadjective
-
tenser,
comparative
-
tensest
superlative
-
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)
-
tensed,
past participle, past
-
tensing
present participle
noun
-
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.
-
the time, as past, present, or future, expressed by such a category.
-
such categories or constructions, or their meanings collectively.
adjective
-
stretched or stressed tightly; taut or rigid
-
under mental or emotional strain
-
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
-
untensingadjective
-
tenselesslyadverb
-
tenselyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
tensesimple
-
tensessimple
-
have tensedperfect
-
has tensedperfect
-
am tensingprogressive
-
are tensingprogressive
-
is tensingprogressive
-
have been tensingperfect progressive
-
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:
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
But people are growing "tense," feeling that "this wasn't what I expected."
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
The conversation seems to turn tense when Hanks speaks face-to-face with André and security personnel block the view.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
Suddenly, the cub sprang up with a tense grunt.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
“But when you speak in your mother tongue, your body tenses up a bit because you think, ‘I understand the full emotional spectrum of what I’m talking about.’
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
“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 mount their attack, the juvenile beetle tenses its muscles and expels a drop of bright red fluid.
From Science Magazine ● Mar. 12, 2024
Balancing the scales becomes more complicated as the tenses get more complicated.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
But relations between Jordan and Israel grew tenser in recent years.
From New York Times ● Feb. 12, 2024
Things felt "tenser, the stakes feel higher", he said, adding that he had been "alarmed" by the number of people who had come out on to the streets.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 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
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
In Rome, it was all there again for Djokovic: lithe, deep and consistent returns, a pickpocket’s moxie during the tensest moments.
From New York Times ● May 23, 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
In a flash, she springs into action, her muscles tensed and claws unsheathed.
From BBC ● Feb. 21, 2025
His jaw dropped and his body tensed in wild anticipation of uncompromised joy as he watched his buddies perform, followed by a cymbal crash of a cheer, the sound of eternal youth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2024
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 could tell he saw right through me because he tensed back up again.
From "The Science of Breakable Things" by Tae Keller
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
Though my back initially kept tensing at the sharper touch, it soon relaxed into the sensation, as if my body were recalling those childhood back scratches.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 8, 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
Barely tensing her legs, she shot up over one of the apartment buildings, Kasusu shrieking with metallic laughter.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
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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.
