tense

adjective

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\ ˈten(t)s

tenser; tensest

Definition of tense

(Entry 1 of 3)

1 : stretched tight : made taut : rigid tense muscles

2a : feeling or showing nervous tension a tense smile

b : marked by strain or suspense a tense thriller

3 : produced with the muscles involved in a relatively tense state the vowels \ē\ and \ü\ in contrast with the vowels \i\ and \u̇\ are tense

tense

verb

tensed; tensing

Definition of tense (Entry 2 of 3)

transitive verb

: to make tense

intransitive verb

: to become tense tensed up and missed the putt

tense

noun

Definition of tense (Entry 3 of 3)

1 : a distinction of form in a verb to express distinctions of time or duration of the action or state it denotes

2a : a set of inflectional forms of a verb that express distinctions of time

b : an inflectional form of a verb expressing a specific time distinction

Other Words from tense Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about tense

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Examples of tense in a Sentence

Adjective She was feeling pretty tense. Why are you so tense? We sat quietly for a few tense moments. It was a tense meeting. My calf muscles are really tense. Verb She tensed as he walked toward her. He tensed up and missed the putt. Noun The sentence will read better if you change the tense of the verb. You should avoid changing tense in the middle of a paragraph.

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective President Donald Trump and French President Emanuel Macron held a tense meeting on the first day of the NATO summit in London, after exchanging harsh words about each other earlier in the press. — Madeleine Carlisle, Time, "'Let's Be Serious.' Trump and Macron Hold Tense Meeting At NATO Summit in London," 3 Dec. 2019 The atmosphere on the first day, beneath a surface bonhomie, was tense. — Simon Akam, Outside Online, "You Won’t Pass Chamonix’s Mountain Guiding Test," 27 Nov. 2019 And that tense meeting between Mountbatten and the Queen in The Crown? — Chloe Foussianes, Town & Country, "Did Lord Mountbatten Really Lead a Coup to Overthrow Harold Wilson's Government?," 24 Nov. 2019 The atmosphere was somewhat tense as the MC5 were introduced by a would-be rabble rouser, and all of the members except for lead singer Rob Tyner casually sauntered onstage. — al, "The night the original punks came to Birmingham," 19 Nov. 2019 The ability to defuse tense meetings or convince a client to move forward with your company can reap great rewards in the workplace, marking you as a natural leader. — NBC News, "How emotional intelligence can score you more money, promotions and happiness," 12 Nov. 2019 In Little Rock, Arkansas, for example, that sort of divide between state officials and the community over a recent school takeover has resulted in tense, passionate meetings and protests. — Adam Harris, The Atlantic, "Why Rhode Island’s Governor Is Taking Over Providence’s Public Schools," 29 Oct. 2019 The game was close throughout and tense at the end, when the Pats pulled to 20-13 with 1:30 left and then recovered their second onside-kick attempt at their own 36. — Rich Exner, cleveland, "Here’s how Browns beat Patriots in 1994 playoffs, their last playoff win: Browns Flashback," 22 Oct. 2019 Iger describes a tense meeting in which Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy took director J.J. Abrams and writer Michael Arndt to meet with Lucas in Northern California. — Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times, "Bob Iger’s new book: 5 highlights from the Disney CEO’s ‘The Ride of a Lifetime’," 24 Sep. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Getting in about 20 to 60 minutes a day is ideal, but even taking a minute to dance around the living room or tense all your muscles and then release them works in a pinch. — Brittany Risher, Good Housekeeping, "Are You Suffering From Mom Burnout?," 26 Aug. 2019 With one less rose available, all of the men immediately tensed up, especially Cam Ayala, who thought Onyeka would give him a friend rose. — Dana Rose Falcone, PEOPLE.com, "Bachelor in Paradise: Hannah G. Finally Decides Between Blake and Dylan," 19 Aug. 2019 After knocking on an apartment door, Relyea found Arbitelle standing behind it, tensing his arms and standing in what the officer described as an aggressive posture. — Nicholas Rondinone, courant.com, "Danbury officer, under investigation for police shooting this month, cleared in deadly 2018 shooting," 12 July 2019 The negotiation On Day 3 , a dozen picks into the 11th round, things at the Czajkowski house started to tense up. — Anthony Fenech, Detroit Free Press, "Why the top high school player in Michigan went undrafted," 9 June 2019 Experiment with keeping your muscles in your body tensed, and also with relaxing them. — Vanessa Marin, Allure, "Ask a Sex Therapist: Help, I Can't Tell If I Just Had My First Orgasm or Not," 16 July 2018 Progressive muscle relaxation is simply tensing and relaxing various muscle groups in the body, explains Bonior. — Casey Gueren, SELF, "We Asked Therapists How to Feel a Little Bit Better This Week. Here are Their Self-Care Tips," 3 Oct. 2018 Willa relented, though her shoulders hunched, her face tensing through the initial strokes. — David Gilbert, The New Yorker, "Fungus," 4 June 2017 When Harris felt something inConde's sock, Conde tensed up and turned on the officer, according to the report. — Uriel J. Garcia, azcentral, "Mesa police video shows officers punching, mocking man in drug arrest," 13 June 2018 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Washo, a native language of Nevada, has four past and three future tenses, depending on how distant an event is in time. — The Economist, "Which is the best language?," 19 Sep. 2019 The revenue generated by speed and red-light cameras — tense of millions of dollars, shows the extent of the problem. — Emily Guskin, Washington Post, "More Washingtonians say drivers are bad than say the same of cyclists, walkers, scooter riders, poll finds," 10 June 2019 For the most part peaceful, a group of protestors and police were in a tense, occasionally violent, confrontation following the end of the march, which lasted more than seven hours. — Tripti Lahiri, Quartz, "Photos: Hong Kong has got its protest mojo back," 9 June 2019 Indeed, as the technician at Mission Control began narrating the final steps of the landing process, the mood in the room turned palpable tense. — Paul Roberts, The Seattle Times, "Mars landing is a nail-biter for Redmond rocket engineers," 26 Nov. 2018 On Monday's episode of The View, things got especially (and unusually) tense between co-hosts Meghan McCain and Joy Behar. — Kayla Keegan, Good Housekeeping, "'The View' Star Whoopi Goldberg Had to Break Up Meghan McCain and Joy Behar's Heated Debate," 30 Oct. 2018 On Captain Wild Bill’s boat, things are getting tense as well. — Tyler Mccarthy, Fox News, "'Deadliest Catch' Season 14, Episode 14 recap: Tensions rise as crews members misbehave," 10 July 2018 Mlinda struggles to teach business concepts (Mr Bhaskar notes that the local language does not even have a future tense). — The Economist, "Mini-grids could be a boon to poor people in Africa and Asia," 12 July 2018 Her voice tenses slightly, indicating a laugh is on its way. — Vanessa Chow, Glamour, "Introducing Kate McKinnon, Movie Star," 26 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tense.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.