TIGHTENING Synonyms: 14 Similar and Opposite Words

tightening

verb

Definition of tightening next

present participle of tighten

as in tensing

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

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 tightening 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 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 Scientists are tightening research protocols, adopting contamination controls from forensic science to ensure findings are real, not lab artifacts. —

Susanne Rust follow, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2026 The findings come in light of rising costs and tightening consumer budgets. —

Jeena Sharma, Fortune, 1 Apr. 2026 While some countries are opening new, easier pathways to citizenship or long-term residency options, others are tightening their requirements in ways that are slamming the door on millions of Americans hoping to settle there or get a second passport. —

Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Mar. 2026 And, if history is a guide, Americans will continue to give to charitable food programs (if not other causes) even when inflation is running at 4%, as is expected for 2026, and the labor market is tightening. —

Andre Mouchard, Oc Register, 29 Mar. 2026 Yet certain types of speech can still trigger criminal charges, and Morocco has seen tightening restrictions on dissent, including against journalists and activists. —

ABC News, 28 Mar. 2026 Cardi stands on the edge of the room as the women straddle chairs backward, tightening their core muscles and wrapping their ankles around the back in order to control their slow descent to the ground. —

Jazmine Hughes, Allure, 24 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tightening

Verb

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