I. ˈten(t)s noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English tens, tense time, tense, from Middle French tens, from Latin tempor-, tempus — more at temporal
1. : a distinction of form in a verb to express past, present, or future time or duration of the action or state it denotes
2.
a. : a set of inflectional forms of a verb that express distinctions of time — see past tense , present tense
b. : a particular inflectional form of a verb expressing a specific time distinction
used the wrong tense of the verb
3. : the part of the meaning of a verb form that consists of the expression of a time distinction
4. : a verb phrase that includes a tense auxiliary
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
: to provide with a tense
a tensed statement
III. adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Latin tensus, from past participle of tendere to stretch — more at thin
1. : stretched tight : made taut : rigid
the skeletal musculature involuntarily becomes tense — H.G.Armstrong
2.
a. : feeling or showing nervous tension : under mental or emotional strain : jittery
tense , taciturn, sensitive, given to worry — A.L.Kroeber
b. : causing strain : inducing tension
the riffles get rougher and navigating is a bit tense — Buick Magazine
no game is tenser than solemn tournament billiards: cold-blooded concentration and steady nerves are demanded — Time
c. : charged with tension : marked by strain or suspense
the air was tense with complaint and constraint — L.C.Douglas
the first eleven pages … have a tense and gripping power — A.H.MacCormick
3. of a speech sound : produced with the muscles involved in a relatively tense state
the vowels ē and ü in contrast with the vowels i and u̇ are tense
— compare lax
Synonyms: see stiff , tight
IV. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
transitive verb
: to make tense
held my mouth open to tense my eardrums — Christopher Morley
intransitive verb
: to become tense
tensed like a coiled rattler — Jack McLarn
— often used with up