as in pressures
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of tensions
Jim McHugh, CBS News, 6 May 2026
See video … LISTEN Tune in for a look at what rising gas prices, Iran tensions, and shifting global oil alliances could mean for America’s energy future.
—FOXNews.com, 6 May 2026
Farming more land than ever before, the brothers must work together to navigate the mounting pressures of climate change, equipment failures, and family tensions.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 6 May 2026
As the world watches tensions between Washington and Tehran, Iran has been carrying out the fastest wave of political executions in its recent history.
—Alejandra Jaramillo, CNN Money, 6 May 2026
Until the International Song Festival, when the tensions in the country played out on national TV for all to watch.
—Literary Hub, 6 May 2026
Outside of these hopes for easing Middle East tensions, a strong earnings season has also boosted stocks.
—Lisa Kailai Han, CNBC, 6 May 2026
But the decision comes amid mounting Emirati frustration with the Gulf states’ response to attacks by Iran and tensions between the UAE and its larger neighbor, Saudi Arabia, that are playing out on diplomatic fronts and battlefields across the region.
—Raf Sanchez, NBC news, 29 Apr. 2026
But Passero’s initial response Monday morning reflected behind-the-scenes tensions between state and local officials.
—Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 29 Apr. 2026
Noun
Drivers across the Philadelphia region say rising gas prices are becoming increasingly difficult to manage, as tensions involving Iran continue to disrupt global oil markets and raise concerns about future supply.
—Jim McHugh, CBS News, 6 May 2026
See video … LISTEN Tune in for a look at what rising gas prices, Iran tensions, and shifting global oil alliances could mean for America’s energy future.
—FOXNews.com, 6 May 2026
Farming more land than ever before, the brothers must work together to navigate the mounting pressures of climate change, equipment failures, and family tensions.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 6 May 2026
As the world watches tensions between Washington and Tehran, Iran has been carrying out the fastest wave of political executions in its recent history.
—Alejandra Jaramillo, CNN Money, 6 May 2026
Until the International Song Festival, when the tensions in the country played out on national TV for all to watch.
—Literary Hub, 6 May 2026
Outside of these hopes for easing Middle East tensions, a strong earnings season has also boosted stocks.
—Lisa Kailai Han, CNBC, 6 May 2026
But the decision comes amid mounting Emirati frustration with the Gulf states’ response to attacks by Iran and tensions between the UAE and its larger neighbor, Saudi Arabia, that are playing out on diplomatic fronts and battlefields across the region.
—Raf Sanchez, NBC news, 29 Apr. 2026
But Passero’s initial response Monday morning reflected behind-the-scenes tensions between state and local officials.
—Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 29 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tensions
Noun
-
While the Chinese model reduces upfront budget pressures on fiscally-strained African states, governments across the continent will now rely heavily on a small number of firms for hardware maintenance, modernization, and training.—
Alexis Akwagyiram,
semafor.com,
7 May 2026
-
The show has always tried to make sense of America not just through the headlines, but through the people, pressures and forces shaping everyday life.—
Todd Spangler,
Variety,
7 May 2026
Verb
-
Win it, and suddenly the series tightens, the doubt creeps in and the path gets a lot more complicated for Orlando.—
Mike Bianchi,
The Orlando Sentinel,
28 Apr. 2026
-
There’s also Title Wave Books in Anchorage, which houses one of the most extensive collections of Indigenous American literature in the country, and Nā Mea Hawai'i, whose collection tightens its scope to Hawaiian culture and history.—
Kat Chen,
Condé Nast Traveler,
25 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Between the expansive clay soil, the hailstorms that roll across North Texas every spring and the relentless summer heat, local houses face a unique set of stresses.—
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
6 May 2026
-
One thing Vogt stresses is starting with some familiar plants.—
Teresa Woodard,
Midwest Living,
3 May 2026
Verb
-
Noriega, the analyst, said that the amount companies are paying to cross the Panama Canal may continue to go up if the conflict stretches on, as oil prices are already skyrocketing.—
Alma Solís,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Announced Tuesday, the official feature competition includes 11 films, with France again playing an outsized role — six of the titles are French productions or co-productions — even as the selection stretches across Asia and the Americas.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The strains of hantavirus in the Americas are attracted to the small blood vessels of the lungs and make the blood vessels leaky — which is bad, because the lungs need air, Chin-Hong said.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 May 2026
-
That may be why the dominant strains in American modernism (at least until the mid-twentieth century, when the sublime reappeared in the work of the Abstract Expressionists) cleaved to the factual, the intimate, the proximate.—
Sebastian Smee,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
Verb
-
That ties the 1992-93 Heat roster for the most on any opening night roster in franchise history.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
8 May 2026
-
This directly ties to one of my top priorities, which is transparency.—
Mercury News & East Bay Times Editorial Boards,
Mercury News,
7 May 2026
Verb
-
Breezily elegant in execution and at times even Hitchcockian, The Girlfriend is a delicious thriller that tenses up with each new scene and revelation.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Romvari’s film binds together impressionistic recollections from Jeremy’s 8-year-old sister Sasha (Eylul Guven).—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
7 May 2026
-
Once converted into its active form, vitamin D binds to receptors in immune cells and supports the body in several ways, including enhancing the innate immune system, regulating and calming the adaptive immune system and reducing the risk of some inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.—
Samantha Agate,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
6 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tensions.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tensions. Accessed 9 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
