tension

feelings of hostility that are not manifest

• “he could sense her latent hostility to him”
• “the diplomats”

(psychology) a state of mental or emotional strain or suspense

• “he suffered from fatigue and emotional tension”
• “stress is a vasoconstrictor”

the physical condition of being stretched or strained

• “it places great tension on the leg muscles”
• “he could feel the tenseness of her body”

a balance between and interplay of opposing elements or tendencies (especially in art or literature)

• “there is a tension created between narrative time and movie time”
• “there is a tension between these approaches to understanding history”

(physics) a stress that produces an elongation of an elastic physical body

• “the direction of maximum tension moves asymptotically toward the direction of the shear”

the action of stretching something tight

• “tension holds the belt in the pulleys”