tense
(adjective) taut or rigid; stretched tight; âtense piano stringsâ
tense
(adjective) pronounced with relatively tense tongue muscles (e.g., the vowel sound in âbeatâ)
tense
(adjective) in or of a state of physical or nervous tension
tense
(noun) a grammatical category of verbs used to express distinctions of time
tense, strain, tense up
(verb) cause to be tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious; âhe got a phone call from his lawyer that tensed him upâ
tense, tense up
(verb) become tense, nervous, or uneasy; âHe tensed up when he saw his opponent enter the roomâ
tense
(verb) increase the tension on; âalternately relax and tense your calf muscleâ; âtense the rope manually before tensing the springâ
strain, tense
(verb) become stretched or tense or taut; âthe bodybuilderâs neck muscles tensedâ; âthe rope strained when the weight was attachedâ
Source: WordNet® 3.1
tense (plural tenses)
(grammar, countable) Any of the forms of a verb which distinguish when an action or state of being occurs or exists.
(linguistics, grammar, countable) An inflected form of a verb that indicates tense.
(linguistics, uncountable) The property of indicating the point in time at which an action or state of being occurs or exists.
• Some English-language authorities only consider inflected forms of verbs (i.e. the present and past tenses) as tenses, and not periphrastic forms such as the simple future with will.
tense (third-person singular simple present tenses, present participle tensing, simple past and past participle tensed)
(grammar, transitive) To apply a tense to.
tense (comparative tenser, superlative tensest)
Showing signs of stress or strain; not relaxed.
Synonyms: stressed, unrelaxed
Pulled taut, without any slack.
tense (third-person singular simple present tenses, present participle tensing, simple past and past participle tensed)
To make or become tense.
• ESnet, Enets, NEETs, Tenes, enset, neets, seent, senet, sente, steen, teens
Source: Wiktionary
Tense, n. Etym: [OF. tens, properly, time, F. temps time, tense. See Temporal of time, and cf. Thing.] (Gram.)
Definition: One of the forms which a verb takes by inflection or by adding auxiliary words, so as to indicate the time of the action or event signified; the modification which verbs undergo for the indication of time.
Note: The primary simple tenses are three: those which express time past, present, and future; but these admit of modifications, which differ in different languages.
Tense, a. Etym: [L. tensus, p.p. of tendere to stretch. See Tend to move, and cf. Toise.]
Definition: Stretched tightly; strained to stiffness; rigid; not lax; as, a tense fiber. The temples were sunk, her forehead was tense, and a fatal paleness was upon her. Goldsmith.
– Tense"ly, adv.
– Tense"ness, n.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
22 February 2025
(noun) the use of closed-class words instead of inflections: e.g., âthe father of the brideâ instead of âthe brideâs fatherâ
According to Guinness World Records, the most massive cup of coffee contained 22,739.14 liters and was created by AlcaldĂa Municipal de ChinchinĂĄ (Colombia) at Parque de BolĂvar, ChinchinĂĄ, Caldas, Colombia, on 15 June 2019. Fifty people worked for more than a month to build this giant cup. The drink prepared was Arabic coffee.
