HyperDic: tense

English > 8 senses of the word *tense*:
ADJECTIVE	all	tense	in or of a state of physical or nervous tension
	all	tense	pronounced with relatively tense tongue muscles (e.g., the vowel sound in 'beat')
	all	tense	taut or rigid
NOUN	communication	tense	a grammatical category of verbs used to express distinctions of time
VERB	contact	tense, strain	become stretched or tense or taut
	change	tense	increase the tension on
	body	tense, tense up	become tense, nervous, or uneasy
	body	tense, strain, tense up	cause to be tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious

tense > pronunciation
Sounds	teh'ns
Rhymes	commence ... whence: 23 rhymes with ehns...

English > *tense*: 8 senses > adjective 1
Meaning	In or of a state of physical or nervous tension.
Narrower	antsy, fidgety, fretful, itchy	Nervous and unable to relax
	aroused, wound up	Brought to a state of great tension
	cliff-hanging, suspenseful, suspensive, nail-biting	(of a situation) characterized by or causing suspense
	edgy, high-strung, highly strung, jittery, jumpy, nervy, overstrung, restive, uptight	In a tense state
	electric	(of a situation) exceptionally tense
	isotonic	Of two or more muscles
	nervous	easily agitated
	pumped-up, pumped up, pumped, wired	tense with excitement and enthusiasm as from a rush of adrenaline
	strained	Showing signs of mental and emotional tension
	taut	subjected to great tension
	unrelaxed	Nor relaxed
See also	agitated	Troubled emotionally and usually deeply
See also	uneasy	lacking a sense of security or affording no ease / ease or reassurance
Opposite	relaxed	Without strain / strain or anxiety
Spanish	tenso
Nouns	tenseness	(psychology) a state of mental or emotional strain or suspense
Adverbs	tensely	in a tense / tense manner

English > *tense*: 8 senses > adjective 2
Meaning	pronounced with relatively tense tongue muscles (e.g., the vowel sound in 'beat').
Category	phonetics	The branch of acoustics concerned with speech processes including its production and perception and acoustic analysis
Narrower	constricted	especially tense
Opposite	lax	pronounced with muscles of the tongue and jaw relatively relaxed (e.g., the vowel sound in 'bet')
Spanish	tenso

English > *tense*: 8 senses > adjective 3
Meaning	taut or rigid; stretched tight.
Example	"tense piano strings"
Narrower	overstrung	Too tightly strung
Narrower	taut, tight	Pulled or drawn tight
See also	tight	Closely constrained or constricted or constricting
Opposite	lax	Lacking in strength or firmness or resilience
Spanish	rígido, tenso, tirante
Nouns	tensity, tenseness	the physical condition of being stretched or strained

English > *tense*: 8 senses > noun 1, communication
Meaning	A grammatical category of verbs used to express distinctions of time.
Narrower	aorist	A verb tense in some languages (classical Greek and Sanskrit) expressing action (especially past action) without indicating its completion or continuation
	future, future tense	A verb tense that expresses actions or states in the future
	past, past tense	A verb tense that expresses actions or states in the past
	perfective, perfective tense, perfect, perfect tense	A tense of verbs used in describing action that has been completed (sometimes regarded as perfective aspect)
	present, present tense	A verb tense that expresses actions or states at the time of speaking
	progressive, progressive tense, imperfect, imperfect tense, continuous tense	A tense of verbs used in describing action that is on-going
Broader	grammatical category, syntactic category	(grammar) a category of words having the same grammatical properties
Spanish	tiempo
Catalan	temps

English > *tense*: 8 senses > verb 1, contact
Meaning	become stretched or tense or taut.
Pattern	Something ----s
Example	"the bodybuilder's neck muscles tensed"
Synonym	strain
Broader	tighten	Become tight / tight / tight / tight / tight or tighter / tighter / tighter / tighter / tighter
Spanish	tensarse, tensar
Nouns	tension	the action of stretching something tight
Nouns	tension	(physics) a stress that produces an elongation of an elastic physical body

English > *tense*: 8 senses > verb 2, change
Meaning	increase the tension on.
Pattern	Somebody ----s something; Something ----s something
Examples	"alternately relax and tense your calf muscle" "tense the rope manually before tensing the spring"
Broader	change, alter, modify	Cause to change
Spanish	atesar, tensar, tesar
Catalan	estirar, tensar, tesar, tibar
Nouns	tension	the action of stretching something tight
Nouns	tension	(physics) a stress that produces an elongation of an elastic physical body

English > *tense*: 8 senses > verb 3, body
Meaning	Become tense, nervous, or uneasy.
Pattern	Something ----s; Somebody ----s; Somebody's (body part) ----s
Example	"He tensed up when he saw his opponent enter the room"
Synonym	tense up
Caused by	tense, strain, tense up	Cause to be tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious
Broader	change state, turn	Undergo a transformation or a change of position or action
Opposite	relax, loosen up, unbend, unwind, decompress, slow down	Become less tense, rest, or take one's ease
Spanish	ponerse tenso, tensarse
Catalan	tensar-se, tesar-se, tibar-se
Nouns	tension	the physical condition of being stretched or strained
Nouns	tensor	any of several muscles that cause an attached structure to become tense or firm

English > *tense*: 8 senses > verb 4, body
Meaning	Cause to be tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious.
Pattern	Somebody ----s something; Something ----s somebody
Example	"he got a phone call from his lawyer that tensed him up"
Synonyms	strain, tense up
Cause to	tense, tense up	Become tense, nervous, or uneasy
Narrower	stretch, extend	Extend one's limbs or muscles, or the entire body
Broader	affect	act physically on
Opposite	relax, unstrain, unlax, loosen up, unwind, make relaxed	Cause to feel relaxed
Spanish	tensarse, tensar
Catalan	tensar, tibar
Nouns	tension	the physical condition of being stretched or strained

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