tense

1. In or of a state of physical or nervous tension (synset 302414122)
   also:

   • agitated - troubled emotionally and usually deeply
   • uneasy - lacking a sense of security or affording no ease or reassurance
   similar to:

   • aroused, wound up - brought to a state of great tension
   • cliff-hanging, nail-biting, suspenseful, suspensive - (of a situation) characterized by or causing suspense
   • taut - subjected to great tension; stretched tight
   • antsy, fidgety, fretful, itchy - nervous and unable to relax
   • edgy, high-strung, highly strung, jittery, jumpy, nervy, overstrung, restive, uptight - being in a tense state
   • electric - (of a situation) exceptionally tense
   • isotonic - of two or more muscles; having equal tension
   • nervous - easily agitated
   • strained - showing signs of mental and emotional tension
   • unrelaxed - nor relaxed
   • pumped, pumped up, pumped-up, wired - tense with excitement and enthusiasm as from a rush of adrenaline
2. Pronounced with relatively tense tongue muscles (e.g., the vowel sound in `beat') (synset 302413664)
   referred to in: phonetics - the branch of acoustics concerned with speech processes including its production and perception and acoustic analysis
   similar to: constricted - especially tense; especially in some dialects
3. Taut or rigid;
   Stretched tight (synset 302411930)
   "tense piano strings"
   also: tight - closely constrained or constricted or constricting
   similar to:

   • overstrung - too tightly strung
   • taut, tight - pulled or drawn tight

1. A grammatical category of verbs used to express distinctions of time (synset 106340499)
   is a type of: grammatical category, syntactic category - (grammar) a category of words having the same grammatical properties
   subtypes:

   • present, present tense - a verb tense that expresses actions or states at the time of speaking
   • aorist - a verb tense in some languages (classical Greek and Sanskrit) expressing action (especially past action) without indicating its completion or continuation
   • past, past tense - a verb tense that expresses actions or states in the past
   • future, future tense - a verb tense that expresses actions or states in the future
   • continuous tense, imperfect, imperfect tense, progressive, progressive tense - a tense of verbs used in describing action that is on-going
   • perfect, perfect tense, perfective, perfective tense - a tense of verbs used in describing action that has been completed (sometimes regarded as perfective aspect)

1. Become stretched or tense or taut (synset 201575559)
   "the bodybuilder's neck muscles tensed"; "the rope strained when the weight was attached"
   is a type of: tighten - become tight or tighter
   same as: strain
2. Increase the tension on (synset 200537384)
   "alternately relax and tense your calf muscle"; "tense the rope manually before tensing the spring"
   is a type of: alter, change, modify - cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
3. Become tense, nervous, or uneasy (synset 200026146)
   "He tensed up when he saw his opponent enter the room"
   is a type of: change state, turn - undergo a transformation or a change of position or action
   same as: tense up
4. Cause to be tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious (synset 200025196)
   "he got a phone call from his lawyer that tensed him up"
   causes: tense, tense up - become tense, nervous, or uneasy
   is a type of: affect - act physically on; have an effect upon
   subtypes: extend, stretch - extend one's limbs or muscles, or the entire body
   same as: strain, tense up

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