tense

Meaning

Noun

1. (uncountable) The property of indicating the point in time at which an action or state of being occurs or exists.
2. (countable) An inflected form of a verb that indicates tense.
3. (countable, proscribed) A grammatical aspect.
4. (countable, proscribed) A verb form or construction indicating a combination of tense, aspect, and mood.

Verb

To apply a tense to.

Adj

1. Showing signs of stress or strain; not relaxed.
2. Characterized by strain (on the nerves, emotions, etc). (Compare charged.)
3. Pulled taut, without any slack.
4. Produced with relative constriction of the vocal tract.

Verb

1. (transitive) To make tense.
2. (intransitive) To become tense.

Synonyms

strain

taut

tight

strained

nervous

tighten

tense up

stress

stretch

wind up

rack

strech

stiff

anxious

stern

agitated

close-fitting

be serious

serious

rigid

narrow

be stern

strict

stringent

stressful

firm

excited

be taut

uptight

contract

be nervous

tauten

stretched

squeeze

time

⌚

uneasy

intense

grammatical tense

be stretched tight

confine

condense

bandage

strengthen

apprehensive

strenuous

stow

straight

steep

austere

shut up

Translations

temps

⌚

tensar

spannen

tenso

spannen

Tempus

teso

uitrekken

tiempo

⌚

strekken

opwinden

tempo

⌚

anspannen

Pronounced as (IPA)

/tɛns/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: tens

Cognate with French: temps

In summary

From Middle English tens, from Old French tens (modern French temps), from Latin tempus. Doublet of tempo and tempus.