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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.
Phonetics. pronounced with relatively tense tongue muscles; narrow. Compare lax (def. 7).
verb (used with object), verb (used without object)
5.
to make or become tense.
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Tensely
is always a great word to know.
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
| a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc. |
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
Related forms
tense·ly, adverb
tense·ness, noun
un·tens·ing, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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|
Link To tensely
Collins
World English Dictionary
| 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 | |
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
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
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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