TIGHTENED Synonyms: 42 Similar and Opposite Words

tightened 1 of 2

adjective

as in inflexible

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

tightened

2 of 2

verb

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

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 tightened

Verb

Rules have tightened in recent years, and officials with children and a spouse in other countries are not eligible for promotion. — Sylvie Zhuang, CNN Money, 16 Aug. 2026 The unwinding of leveraged positions has also eased after regulators tightened rules and brokerages normalized margin and risk requirements. — Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 13 Aug. 2026 For decades, city officials have tightened regulations and promised stronger enforcement. — Wayne Pacelle, New York Daily News, 13 Aug. 2026 Hong led by more than 20 points in polling two weeks ago, but the gap tightened as normal Democrats rallied behind the electable moderate. — Editorial Board, Washington Post, 12 Aug. 2026 The Netherlands tightened rules on telemarketing calls last month. — ABC News, 11 Aug. 2026 The show is not yet as fine-tuned as its predecessor; some dialogue could use less theatrical melodrama and characterizations could be tightened, but staging is stellar. — Jared Kaufman, Twin Cities, 10 Aug. 2026 Updates across the lists include new restrictions on flame retardants and colorants, new or tightened limits on some chemicals and metals, and new substance limits for jewelry. — Cleo Levin, Footwear News, 10 Aug. 2026 The race tightened as the primary neared but Blackburn stayed in the lead until her final victory. — Emily R. Condon, USA Today, 7 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tightened

Adjective

Many ex-addicts turn to religion, exchanging one inflexible code for another; John’s own post-heroin spiritual exercises were omnivorous.

— Ian Penman, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026
Warsh believes forward guidance made the Fed inflexible and obscured signals from the markets.

— Matt Peterson, CNBC, 30 July 2026

Definition of inflexible

Verb

The women tensed when the deputy warden of the Rostov jail, a curt, imperious man with a heavy-footed gait, walked in.

— Joshua Yaffa, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026
As that handover proceeds, the excitatory signal that keeps your muscles faintly tensed all day begins to withdraw, and muscle tone drops toward the near-paralysis of deep sleep.

— Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026

Definition of tensed

Verb

The strikes have stretched from the European part of Russia to Yekaterinburg, over 2,000 kilometers (about 1,250 miles) from Ukraine's border.

— ABC News, ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026
Caution tape was stretched across the area, and the Chicago Fire Department scuba team was spotted at the scene.

— Adam Harrington, CBS News, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of stretched

Adjective

As each day passed, Safir grew stronger and stronger, meeting every new challenge with an unyielding resistance.

— Kayla Grant, PEOPLE, 29 July 2026
Despite its simple premise, Raimi’s eccentric, expressive filmmaking style, combined with the film’s unyielding, cacophonous splatter horror, made The Evil Dead instantly notorious.

— Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 10 July 2026

Definition of unyielding

Adjective

The service Service here is warm and deeply personal rather than stiff or overly formal.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 Aug. 2026
That double-helix structure is the secret to the tusk’s remarkable stiffness and strength, with the flexible fibers and stiff mineral matrix enabling the tusk to withstand strong forces, like bending and twisting without cracking.

— Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of stiff

Adjective

Filmmaker Rubaiyat Hossain crafts a taut supernatural drama that dissects the patriarchy hiding beneath the veneer of a fairytale wedding.

— Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 17 Aug. 2026
For a woman who died in 1818, her face seems slightly too taut, her eyes slightly too wide, her skin slightly too bright.

— Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 3 July 2026

Definition of taut

Adjective

Yet the virus spread undetected for a month because researchers were unable to get permission from a rigid bureaucracy to test the swabs that would have helped identify it.

— Jennifer Pahlka, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026
What starts as a reasonable desire to prevent disease can escalate into constant testing and rigid routines built around an ever-growing roster of supplements and experimental remedies.

— John Vorwald, Robb Report, 16 Aug. 2026

Definition of rigid

Browse Nearby Words

tighten

tightened

tightening

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Tightened.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tightened. Accessed 24 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of tightened

adjective

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on tightened

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

expeditious

Popular in Grammar & Usage

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

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

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

Popular in Wordplay

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 21

16 Glee-ridden Words from Schitt's Creek

Popular

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes