tautening

verb

present participle of tauten
as in tightening
to draw tight he tautened the rope and then tied it off

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tautening
  1. tightening
  2. tensing
Verb
  • Now, Virginia's own environmental regulator is tightening emissions requirements for any generator permits filed on or after July 1, 2026.
    — Anna Demeo, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026
  • Across Africa, governments are tightening mining laws, taxes and export controls to capture more revenue from natural resources without driving away foreign investment.
    — Ruben Nyanguila, semafor.com, 20 July 2026
Definition of tightening
Verb
  • Ewing has recognized his shoulders tensing and his upper body going stiff.
    — Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 21 June 2026
  • Limited rib mobility interferes with the ability to breathe deeply, triggering your body’s stress response, which increases muscle tensing as a guarding mechanism.
    — Dana Santas, CNN Money, 15 Feb. 2026
Definition of tensing
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

tautened
tautening
tautens
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Tautening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tautening. Accessed 23 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of maverick

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
thumbnail graphic with text word of the day quiz
Weekly "Word of the Day" Quiz See how well you know each Word of the Day for Ju...
See All