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Recent Examples of tightened
Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 7 Apr. 2026
Adrian Kempe scored the only goal of the shootout in the second round, and the Los Angeles Kings tightened the Western Conference playoff race with a 3-2 win over the Nashville Predators on Monday night.
—CBS News, 6 Apr. 2026
Leonardsen tightened her scarf and kept moving.
—Eric Klinenberg, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2026
And the current war has only further tightened its stranglehold on Iranian society.
—The Week Us, TheWeek, 6 Apr. 2026
Luke Evangelista scored the only goal of the shootout in the eighth round, and the Nashville Predators tightened the Western Conference playoff race with a 5-4 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night.
—ABC News, 3 Apr. 2026
Victor’s hand tightened imperceptibly on the glass.
—Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Apr. 2026
Prices reset, credit tightened, and over time the market rebuilt.
—Doug Ashburn, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026
But many of them might have already found that relocating to some countries, or obtaining a second passport in these places, has become harder over the last couple of years as these have tightened residency and descent rules.
—Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Mar. 2026
Verb
These rules had been tightened since 2020, when relations soured following a deadly border skirmish in the Galwan Valley, where several Indian and Chinese soldiers died.
—Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 7 Apr. 2026
Adrian Kempe scored the only goal of the shootout in the second round, and the Los Angeles Kings tightened the Western Conference playoff race with a 3-2 win over the Nashville Predators on Monday night.
—CBS News, 6 Apr. 2026
Leonardsen tightened her scarf and kept moving.
—Eric Klinenberg, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2026
And the current war has only further tightened its stranglehold on Iranian society.
—The Week Us, TheWeek, 6 Apr. 2026
Luke Evangelista scored the only goal of the shootout in the eighth round, and the Nashville Predators tightened the Western Conference playoff race with a 5-4 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night.
—ABC News, 3 Apr. 2026
Victor’s hand tightened imperceptibly on the glass.
—Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Apr. 2026
Prices reset, credit tightened, and over time the market rebuilt.
—Doug Ashburn, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026
But many of them might have already found that relocating to some countries, or obtaining a second passport in these places, has become harder over the last couple of years as these have tightened residency and descent rules.
—Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tightened
Adjective
-
For working class voters with inflexible work schedules, limited transportation and scarce childcare, adding a document requirement is not a neutral inconvenience.—
Kica Matos,
Hartford Courant,
1 Mar. 2026
-
The technique was inextricably bound to his worldview as a prober and philosopher uncommitted to absolute truth or inflexible morality; in Preminger’s world, there are always myriad perspectives that, if not equally valid, are equally considered.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Everyone in the barber shop flinched at the sound and tensed their shoulders.—
Keri Heath,
Austin American Statesman,
5 Mar. 2026
-
Studios in collaboration with Banijay’s DLO Producciones, tracks the rise of the founding leader of Los Miami, a gang which controlled Madrid’s insatiable ‘90s drug business, tensed by sudden explosive violence, and the drug-lord’s multiple near-death experiences.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
18 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
Early on, the emotive Moon opposes firm Saturn, meaning that our plans might get caught between patience with ourselves and duties to others.—
Tarot.com,
Sun Sentinel,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Just under eight minutes into the first period Tuesday against the Philadelphia Flyers, Ovechkin popped Flyers defenseman Cam York with a firm but largely unremarkable shove.—
Bailey Johnson,
Washington Post,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
My parents took me on my first flight at three months old and never stopped, raising me in a world that stretched far beyond home.—
Shayla Martin,
Condé Nast Traveler,
6 Apr. 2026
-
The other day, a squad of dancers stretched and limbered up in the halls as, outside, the lions stayed still.—
Naaman Zhou,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Yet the music industry can move at an unyielding clip, particularly when artists are rocketing to stardom like Young was.—
Julyssa Lopez,
Rolling Stone,
11 Mar. 2026
-
The breath of air, and the freedom of movement, only reinforce the moral asphyxiation taking place inside—and emphasize the unyielding authority sustaining the city’s public life.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
19 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The service Plentiful, youthful, and uniformly charming (though the stiff, ice-blue staff uniforms are oddly unflattering).—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
5 Apr. 2026
-
Mix water with dish soap (or a little vinegar) and scrub with a broom or stiff brush.—
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson,
Miami Herald,
4 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Heated Rivalry’s Connor Storrie just can’t outrun his famously taut backside.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Tom had to insure that my breast was pulled completely taut.—
Amanda Peet,
New Yorker,
21 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Pitches that just barely graze the rigid outer edge of the strike zone prompted questions about how infinitesimally accurate the HawkEye technology that underpins ABS can be.—
Hannah Keyser,
CNN Money,
31 Mar. 2026
-
The film’s surplus of action and chase scenes follows the same rigid formula of swooping camera movements and game power-up deus ex machinas that no sequence ever proves particularly exciting.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
31 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tightened.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tightened. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
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