Free translatorFree translator
Synonyms, antonyms, pronunciation

  Home 		English Dictionary      examples: 'day', 'get rid of', 'New York Bay'




Tense   /tɛns/   Listen
Tense

adjective
1.
In or of a state of physical or nervous tension.
2.
Pronounced with relatively tense tongue muscles (e.g., the vowel sound in 'beat').
3.
Taut or rigid; stretched tight.
noun
1.
A grammatical category of verbs used to express distinctions of time.
verb
1.
Become stretched or tense or taut.  Synonym: strain.  "The rope strained when the weight was attached"
2.
Increase the tension on.  "Tense the rope manually before tensing the spring"
3.
Become tense, nervous, or uneasy.  Synonym: tense up.
4.
Cause to be tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious.  Synonyms: strain, tense up.



Related searches:
tense system
tense up
continuous tense
future perfect tense
future progressive tense
future tense
imperfect tense
past perfect tense
past progressive tense
past tense
perfect tense
perfective tense
pluperfect tense
present perfect tense
present progressive tense
present tense
progressive tense
tenseness


WordNet 3.0 © 2010 Princeton University


Advanced search
     Find words:
Starting with
Ending with
Containing
Matching a pattern  

Synonyms
Antonyms
Quotes
Words linked to  

only single words


Share |




"Tense" Quotes from Famous Books



... emerges from the spell. Oftentimes, as she squats by the mat, summoning the spirits, her eyes take on a far-away stare; the veins of her face and neck stand out prominently, while the muscles of her arms and legs are tense; then, as she is possessed, she assumes the character and habits of the superior being. If it is a spirit supposed to dwell in Igorot or Kalinga land, she speaks in a dialect unfamiliar to her hearers, orders them to dance in Igorot ...
— The Tinguian - Social, Religious, and Economic Life of a Philippine Tribe • Fay-Cooper Cole
... effort. His brakes shrieked, and still the car shot on with scarcely abated speed, for the wheels could secure no purchase in the thin sand of the roadway. Andy's heart stood still in sympathy as he saw the face of the driver whiten and grow tense. Charles Merchant, the son of rich John Merchant, was behind the wheel. Drunken Pat Gregg had taken the warning at last. He turned in the saddle and drove home his spurs, but even that had been too late had not Charles Merchant taken the big chance. ...
— Way of the Lawless • Max Brand
... towards her. Something of the servility of his manner had gone. For the first time she looked at him closely, appreciated the tense immobility of his features, the still, penetrating light of his cold eyes. A queer premonition of trouble for a ...
— The Pawns Count • E. Phillips Oppenheim
... was short as it was tense. Once more the brave black head appeared, a blot on the foam-flecked surface, no longer battling, with dilated nostrils, against fearful odds; but lying sideways, inert . . . lifeless; . . . and a prolonged outburst of shouting, clapping, and huzzaing informed the echoing hills that the great spirit ...
— The Great Amulet • Maud Diver
... tense, strained tone of her voice that she was very near the breaking-point, and his whole being yearned to comfort her and try ...
— The Harbor of Doubt • Frank Williams


More quotes...


Copyright © 2025 Free Translator.org