tenseness
adjective
1.
stretched tight, as a cord, fiber, etc.; drawn taut; rigid.
2.
in a state of mental or nervous strain; high-strung; taut: a tense person.
3.
characterized by a strain upon the nerves or feelings: a tense moment.
4.
verb (used with object), verb (used without object)
5.
to make or become tense.
00:10
tenseness
is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
Related forms
tense·ly, adverb
tense·ness, noun
un·tens·ing, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To tenseness
Collins
World English Dictionary
tense1 (tɛns) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adj | |
| 1. | stretched or stressed tightly; taut or rigid |
| 2. | under mental or emotional strain |
| 3. | producing mental or emotional strain: a tense day |
| 4. | Compare lax (of a speech sound) pronounced with considerable muscular effort and having relatively precise accuracy of articulation and considerable duration: in English the vowel |
| —vb | |
| 5. | ( |
| [C17: from Latin tensus taut, from tendere to stretch] | |
| 'tensely1 | |
| —adv | |
| 'tenseness1 | |
| —n | |
| tense1 (tɛns) | |
| —adj | |
| 1. | stretched or stressed tightly; taut or rigid |
| 2. | under mental or emotional strain |
| 3. | producing mental or emotional strain: a tense day |
| 4. | Compare lax (of a speech sound) pronounced with considerable muscular effort and having relatively precise accuracy of articulation and considerable duration: in English the vowel |
| —vb | |
| 5. | ( |
| [C17: from Latin tensus taut, from tendere to stretch] | |
| 'tensely1 | |
| —adv | |
| 'tenseness1 | |
| —n | |
| tense2 (tɛns) | |
| —n | |
| grammar a category of the verb or verbal inflections, such as present, past, and future, that expresses the temporal relations between what is reported in a sentence and the time of its utterance | |
| [C14: from Old French tens time, from Latin tempus] | |
| 'tenseless2 | |
| —adj | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
tense
"stretched tight," 1670, from L. tensus, pp. of tendere "to stretch" (see tenet). Sense of "in a state of nervous tension" is first recorded 1821. The verb meaning "to make tense" is from 1676; intrans. sense of "to become tense" (often tense up) is recorded from 1946.
tense
"form of a verb showing time of an action or state," early 14c., tens "time," also "tense of a verb" (late 14c.), from O.Fr. tens "time" (11c.), from L. tempus (see temporal).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary
tense definition
An inflectional (see inflection) form of verbs; it expresses the time at which the action described by the verb takes place. The major tenses are past, present, and future. The verb in “I sing” is in the present tense; in “I sang,” past tense; in “I will sing,” future tense. Other tenses are the present perfect (“I have sung”), the past perfect (“I had sung”), and the future perfect (“I will have sung”).
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
tense
adj. Of programs, very clever and efficient. A tense piece of code often got that way because it was highly bummed, but sometimes it was just based on a great idea. A comment in a clever routine by Mike Kazar, once a grad-student hacker at CMU: "This routine is so tense it will bring tears to your eyes." A tense programmer is one who produces tense code.
Jargon
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