tense
1stretched 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.
Phonetics. pronounced with relatively tense tongue muscles; narrow. : Compare lax1 (def. 7).
to make or become tense.
Origin of tense
1Other words from tense
- tensely, adverb
- tenseness, noun
- un·tens·ing, adjective
Other definitions for tense (2 of 2)
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.
Origin of tense
2Other words from tense
- tenseless, adjective
- tense·less·ly, adverb
- tense·less·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use tense in a sentence
Uganda has moved to clamp down on social media use in the country even as its diplomatic relations with the US have taken a bad turn after a tense and disputed election.
Uganda has blocked social media indefinitely as diplomatic tensions spike with US | Stephen Kafeero | January 19, 2021 | Quartz“While I don’t think anything I’d say would reflect poorly on our district or my school, I know things are tense and I wouldn’t want to agitate it further,” said the teacher, who teaches American history at a high school.
After Capitol attack, social studies and civics teachers struggle with real-time history lessons | Joe Heim, Valerie Strauss | January 19, 2021 | Washington PostThe NBA’s 11 scheduled games proceeded as scheduled despite the tense scene earlier in the day at the nation’s capital.
Bucks, Pistons lead NBA protests of Jacob Blake decision, Capitol violence | Ben Golliver | January 7, 2021 | Washington PostFor instance, if you tend to bounce your knee up and down by tensing your calf muscle, choose a seat away from other people who may find the resulting vibrations hard to ignore.
Paulsen refers to himself as “the boy” rather than “I” in the book, and he recalls many tense and dangerous moments.
Gary Paulsen tells his own survival story in ‘Gone to the Woods’ | Mary Quattlebaum | January 5, 2021 | Washington Post
He is tensely and formally dressed on all occasions, with an encyclopedic memory of beer labels.
Malcolm had heard many such tensely dramatic stories from fugitives who had reached Lucknow during July.
The Red Year | Louis TracyJohn watched the kitten, and Eric watched, too—watched tensely, for he sensed what would happen to it.
The Medici Boots | Pearl Norton SwetMoya faced them tensely, a slim wraith of a girl with dark eyes that blazed.
The Highgrader | William MacLeod Raine"Ah, I see——" And then, "That other door," he whispered tensely.
The Secret Witness | George Gibbs"They will win their way across, unless he wakes," said Renwick tensely.
The Secret Witness | George Gibbs
British Dictionary definitions for tense (1 of 2)
/ (tɛns) /
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: in English the vowel ( iː ) in ``beam'' is tense Compare lax (def. 4)
(often foll by up) to make or become tense
Origin of tense
1Derived forms of tense
- tensely, adverb
- tenseness, noun
British Dictionary definitions for tense (2 of 2)
/ (tɛns) /
grammar a category of the verb or verbal inflections, such as present, past, and future, that expresses the temporal relations between what is reported in a sentence and the time of its utterance
Origin of tense
2Derived forms of tense
- tenseless, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for tense
An inflectional (see inflection) form of verbs; it expresses the time at which the action described by the verb takes place. The major tenses are past, present, and future. The verb in “I sing” is in the present tense; in “I sang,” past tense; in “I will sing,” future tense. Other tenses are the present perfect (“I have sung”), the past perfect (“I had sung”), and the future perfect (“I will have sung”).
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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