tightened 1 of 2

past tense of tighten
as in tensed
to draw tight tighten the straps on the backpack so that the load doesn't shift while hiking

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

tightened

2 of 2

adjective

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 tightened
Adjective
But the race for Virginia’s governorship has tightened in recent weeks, with Spanberger’s lead over Republican Winsome Earle-Sears narrowing across several polls. Martha McHardy, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2025 As the Ellisons tightened their grip on Paramount, CBS has made significant changes. Brian Steinberg, Variety, 30 Oct. 2025 Beijing has even tightened its controls by expanding its restrictions earlier this month. David Goldman, CNN Money, 30 Oct. 2025 Member states have tightened asylum procedures, struck deals with transit countries including Turkey, Libya, Tunisia, and Egypt, and deployed more surveillance technology than ever before. Jonathan Portes, Time, 29 Oct. 2025 The protection tightened and the offenses stopped turning the ball over. Kansas City Star, 28 Oct. 2025 Last month the Transportation Department tightened commercial driver’s license requirements for noncitizensafter three fatal crashes that officials said were caused by immigrant truck drivers. Jason Ma, Fortune, 26 Oct. 2025 Earlier this month, China significantly tightened its restrictions on rare earth elements, which make up a key input in semiconductors found in an array of products from cars to home appliances. Max Zahn, ABC News, 23 Oct. 2025 As law enforcement efforts tightened along traditional routes, cartels shifted west, taking advantage of the vastness of the Pacific to evade detection. Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tightened
Verb
  • While biting, their jaw muscles tensed to squeeze venom into their meal.
    Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 23 Oct. 2025
  • My skin felt dirty, and my stomach tensed with fear.
    Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 14 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • This cleanly segments everything into management and labor while instituting an inflexible hierarchy.
    Josh Browning, Big Think, 28 Oct. 2025
  • This 50-year-old rule is politically inflexible — a public vote is the only way to modernize it.
    Harry Bubbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Ohtani did get into the seventh inning for a pitching staff stretched thin by Tuesday’s doubleheader-in-one Game 3.
    Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 29 Oct. 2025
  • The crowd, which began forming early in the morning outside The Pavilion at Ole Miss, stretched across campus as students wore MAGA hats and 'Freedom' shirts in tribute to the slain Turning Point founder.
    Jasmine Baehr, FOXNews.com, 29 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Ten years ago, while using GPS and weather-monitoring equipment, researchers developed a theory that a combination of ice, sunlight, rain, and high winds creates a scenario where the stones could feasibly be pushed across the firm but muddy surface of the former lake.
    Graham Averill, Outside, 28 Oct. 2025
  • Local students tend to know about the province’s nationalistic perspective, due to their high school curriculum, but this deliberately (and understandably) obfuscates the larger Canadian picture to try to foster a firmer attachment to Quebec’s language and culture.
    Dónal Gill, The Dial, 28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Martin, who is fifty-four, is the most commercially successful songwriter of the twenty-first century; his work is meticulous and precise, and his songs are taut, balanced, unyielding.
    Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2025
  • In a market chock full of unknowns, there is an unyielding rhythm on Wall Street.
    Morgan Chittum, CNBC, 2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The company behind the iconic Roomba robotic vacuum has been watching its stock progressively slide since 2021 as its early success was overrun by stiff competition from Chinese rivals Anker, Ecovacs, and Roborock.
    Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 28 Oct. 2025
  • However, the Tigers will face stiff competition to land an elite coach, with Penn State and Florida already searching for a new head coach.
    Jordan Sigler, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • When considering his crimes or getting ready to commit another, Chernus’s eyes grow cold, his voice deep and sharp, his body language more taut and authoritative.
    Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2025
  • Its taut construction and metal hardware trace directly back to Demeulemeester’s early experiments with tension and release — the interplay that shaped her gothic romanticism and cemented her place in Antwerp’s avant-garde.
    Maggie Clancy, Footwear News, 4 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Sleepy Hollow’s rigid norms and rules are all ultimately just Sharon’s very strong preferences.
    Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 31 Oct. 2025
  • The two-inch-thick seat cushion will provide ample support, and the contoured mesh back will bend to your weight, unlike rigid models made from leather or upholstery.
    Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 30 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Tightened.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tightened. Accessed 1 Nov. 2025.

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