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
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
Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 13 Oct. 2025
But tensions in Chicago have flared and remain high.
—Anna Giaritelli, The Washington Examiner, 13 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tension
Noun
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
Verb
However, with Nvidia dropping almost 5% on Friday, given its geopolitical football status, the stock’s advance Monday may have more to do with the cooling China tensions than anything else.
—Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 13 Oct. 2025
But tensions in Chicago have flared and remain high.
—Anna Giaritelli, The Washington Examiner, 13 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tension
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tension
Noun
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Eight New York Jets showed pressure against just five available Broncos blockers, with the rest of Nix’s arsenal split out wide as Denver looked for a spark deep in its own territory.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
17 Oct. 2025
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Freshman Eva Karacalidis starred in her debut at center-mid, helping the Porkers apply a wealth of offensive pressure in an 11-shot first half.—
Tom Mulherin,
Boston Herald,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
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My skin felt dirty, and my stomach tensed with fear.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
14 Oct. 2025
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Fanning’s tensed, squirrelly performance comes to life in these spots, with Polly’s waning trust and fear of betrayal cluing into a wounded self-loathing that becomes the film’s best lasting impression.—
J. Kim Murphy,
Variety,
11 Oct. 2025
Noun
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There are also concerns the delay will cause chaos, confusion and stress for Americans, some of whom have already started receiving notices that their premiums will skyrocket next year.—
Ali Swenson,
Twin Cities,
16 Oct. 2025
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Researchers say the material can even be integrated with rigid robotic parts to create hybrid machines suited for complex, high-stress environments.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Powell suggests the Fed might stop tightening policy.—
Yeo Boon Ping,
CNBC,
15 Oct. 2025
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Israel then tightened a land-sea-air blockade of the territory, which made normal governance impossible and turned every budget line into a permit request.—
Mohammed R. Mhawish,
New Yorker,
14 Oct. 2025
Noun
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A certain strain of status-curious reader keeps coming back for more.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
17 Oct. 2025
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Prince William, who was an air ambulance pilot, frequently highlights the strains and stresses of working on the frontline of emergency services — and the mental health support that those teams need.—
Simon Perry,
PEOPLE,
17 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tension.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tension. Accessed 18 Oct. 2025.
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