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
My apologies if the tenses in the preceeding sentence are grammatically incorrect.
Royal Baby Is First Person To Get a Wikipedia Page Before It Is Born | Tom Sykes | July 2, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTRoinsard fielded questions in a heavy French accent, frequently mixing up his tenses and appealing to a translator for a lifeline.
He plays fast and loose with tenses, slipping into the present, stopping the reader short in front of a brick wall.
Great Weekend Reads: 4 New Novels, November 13, 2011 | Susan Salter Reynolds, Christopher Byrd, John Wilwol, Jennifer Miller | November 13, 2011 | THE DAILY BEASTAnyone who has tried to learn a second language is familiar with the maddening irregular verbs, conjugations, and tenses.
Berault is behind the times in retaining most of the Latin cases and tenses.
Gossip in all its moods and tenses, from the vague indicative of mere innuendo, to the full subjunctive of open defamation!
The Knight Of Gwynne, Vol. II (of II) | Charles James LeverVerbs of this form introduce the ς into the future and other inflected tenses, as πείσω, πεύσομαι.
Provision defining the words and phrases, and covering all tenses, pronouns and both sexes.
In all the moods and tenses of the little maid the doctor looked for and found reminiscences of her mother.
The Major | Ralph Connor
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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