Link Centre Dictionary

tense

UK/tɛns/ US/ˈtɛns/ common
noun (1) adjective (3) verb (4)

noun

1.

a grammatical category of verbs used to express distinctions of time

adjective

1.
2.

pronounced with relatively tense tongue muscles (e.g., the vowel sound in `beat'')

Antonyms
Similar
3.

taut or rigid; stretched tight

  • “tense piano strings”
Antonyms
Similar

verb

1.

stretch or force to the limit

  • “strain the rope”
Synonyms
2.

increase the tension on

  • “tense a rope”
3.

become tense or tenser

  • “He tensed up when he saw his opponent enter the room”
Synonyms
Antonyms
4.

make tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious;

Synonyms
Antonyms

Origin

From Middle English tens, from Old French tens (modern French temps), from Latin tempus. Doublet of tempo and tempus.

Phrases

  • absolute tense
  • aorist tense
  • compound tense
  • conditional tense
  • continuous tense
  • future tense
  • hodiernal tense
  • imperfect tense
  • tense up
  • tense vowel

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

See also

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.