as in tightening
to draw tight
he tensed his muscles and attempted to lift the heavy appliance onto the truck
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Recent Examples of tensing
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
Keeping in the same position for a long period of time, especially if cramped or uncomfortable, can also lead to muscles tensing up and feeling tight.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 26 Dec. 2025
Keep tensing and releasing muscles of the chest, abdomen, pelvis, legs, feet, and toes.
—Carley Millhone, Health, 2 Oct. 2025
Seemingly immediately, your heart will begin racing and your muscles will start tensing.
—Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Sport mode is where things get serious, tensing the car’s muscles and unleashing the entire prairie of horses.
—Tim Pitt, Robb Report, 6 Aug. 2025
Dana Santas, CNN Money, 15 Feb. 2026
Keeping in the same position for a long period of time, especially if cramped or uncomfortable, can also lead to muscles tensing up and feeling tight.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 26 Dec. 2025
Keep tensing and releasing muscles of the chest, abdomen, pelvis, legs, feet, and toes.
—Carley Millhone, Health, 2 Oct. 2025
Seemingly immediately, your heart will begin racing and your muscles will start tensing.
—Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Sport mode is where things get serious, tensing the car’s muscles and unleashing the entire prairie of horses.
—Tim Pitt, Robb Report, 6 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tensing
tightening
Verb
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With Brooklyn’s injury list still swallowing half the rotation and the draft lottery picture tightening by the day, Liddell used Tuesday night as a personal argument.—
C.J. Holmes,
New York Daily News,
8 Apr. 2026
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It's been riding a steady uptrend and is now tightening just below the highs around $80.—
Josh Brown,Sean Russo,
CNBC,
6 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tensing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tensing. Accessed 12 Apr. 2026.
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