tensile

[ ten-suhl, -sil or, especially British, -sahyl ]
See synonyms for: tensiletensility on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. of or relating to tension: tensile strain.

  2. capable of being stretched or drawn out; ductile.

Origin of tensile

1
From the New Latin word tēnsilis, dating back to 1620–30. See tense1, -ile

Other words from tensile

  • ten·sil·i·ty [ten-sil-i-tee], /tɛnˈsɪl ɪ ti/, ten·sile·ness, noun
  • ten·sile·ly, adverb
  • non·ten·sile, adjective
  • non·ten·sil·i·ty, noun
  • un·ten·sile, adjective

Words Nearby tensile

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use tensile in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for tensile

tensile

/ (ˈtɛnsaɪl) /


adjective
  1. of or relating to tension

  2. sufficiently ductile to be stretched or drawn out

Origin of tensile

1
C17: from New Latin tensilis, from Latin tendere to stretch

Derived forms of tensile

  • tensilely, adverb
  • tensility (tɛnˈsɪlɪtɪ) or tensileness, noun

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