as in pressure
the burden on one's emotional or mental well-being created by demands on one's time
under a lot of tension right now about her decision not to go to college
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Recent Examples of tension
Brian Steinberg, Variety, 10 Nov. 2025
Rauschenberg was intensely interested in performers and performance—how time worked with, or created tension in, a finite dance or theatre piece.
—Hilton Als, New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2025
Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 27 Sep. 2022
The roof bars tension the whole tent nicely, pulling against the stakes, so there’s no slack in the walls and no sag in the roof.
—Bill Gifford, Outside Online, 26 July 2022
See All Example Sentences for tension
Noun
More of the big TV-news operations feature hot-talk programming in primetime that is designed to appeal to partisan audiences, or just those looking for tension or a verbal donnybrook.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 10 Nov. 2025
Rauschenberg was intensely interested in performers and performance—how time worked with, or created tension in, a finite dance or theatre piece.
—Hilton Als, New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2025
Verb
In a lengthy chat with host Stephen Colbert, the director and actress spoke about everything from firing Shia LaBeouf to tension with star Florence Pugh to whether Harry Styles actually spit on Chris Pine.
—Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 27 Sep. 2022
The roof bars tension the whole tent nicely, pulling against the stakes, so there’s no slack in the walls and no sag in the roof.
—Bill Gifford, Outside Online, 26 July 2022
See All Example Sentences for tension
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tension
Noun
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For those who do know him, the optics are less about political pressure and more about simple, unadulterated pride.—
Rhea Mogul,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
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Mexico enters the 2026 World Cup with the excitement and pressure of co-hosting the tournament, eager to finally break its long-standing barrier of reaching the Round of 16.—
Ben Verbrugge,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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While biting, their jaw muscles tensed to squeeze venom into their meal.—
Laura Baisas,
Popular Science,
23 Oct. 2025
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My skin felt dirty, and my stomach tensed with fear.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
14 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Yet there's been internal stress due to layoffs, return-to-office mandates and controversy surrounding Microsoft's contracts.—
Jordan Novet,
CNBC,
6 Nov. 2025
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For gardeners in warmer areas, fall planting avoids the stress of a hot summer without adequate root systems.—
Andy Wilcox,
Better Homes & Gardens,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Schuldiner and his bandmates fine-tuned and tightened the sound on subsequent albums, hitting a high water mark on 1991’s Human, which landed at Number 70 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time.—
Kory Grow,
Rolling Stone,
11 Nov. 2025
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Trump also recently imposed sanctions on the Russian energy sector, which will help tighten the financial squeeze on Russia’s war effort.—
Thomas Wright,
The Atlantic,
11 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Duffy and other aviation officials have said the restrictions are necessary to ensure safety while air traffic controllers are understaffed, a strain exacerbated by the shutdown.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
9 Nov. 2025
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While federal officials insist the system remains safe, the controllers responsible for keeping it that way say the strain is showing.—
Samantha-Jo Roth,
The Washington Examiner,
8 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tension.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tension. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.
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