TENSION

I. noun Etymology: Middle French or Latin; Middle French, from Latin ~-, tensio, from tendere Date: 1533 1. the act or action of stretching or the condition or degree of being stretched to stiffness ; tautness, stress 1b, 2. either of two balancing forces causing or tending to cause ex~, the stress resulting from the elongation of an elastic body, 3. inner striving, unrest, or imbalance often with physiological indication of emotion, a state of latent hostility or opposition between individuals or groups, a balance maintained in an artistic work between opposing forces or elements, a device to produce a desired ~ (as in a loom), ~al adjective ~less adjective II. transitive verb (~ed; ~ing) Date: 1891 to subject to ~, ~er noun