tension

Noun
  1. (psychology) a state of mental or emotional strain or suspense (synset 114399593)
    "he suffered from fatigue and emotional tension"; "stress is a vasoconstrictor"
    referred to in: psychological science, psychology - the science of mental life
    is a type of: mental strain, nervous strain, strain - (psychology) nervousness resulting from mental stress
    subtypes:
    • yips - nervous tension that causes an athlete to fail (especially causes golfers to miss short putts)
    • breaking point - (psychology) stress at which a person breaks down or a situation becomes crucial
    same as: stress, tenseness
  2. The physical condition of being stretched or strained (synset 114567937)
    "it places great tension on the leg muscles"; "he could feel the tenseness of her body"
    is a type of: condition, status - a state at a particular time
    subtypes: tone, tonicity, tonus - the elastic tension of living muscles, arteries, etc. that facilitate response to stimuli
    same as: tautness, tenseness, tensity
  3. A balance between and interplay of opposing elements or tendencies (especially in art or literature) (synset 114025966)
    "there is a tension created between narrative time and movie time"; "there is a tension between these approaches to understanding history"
    referred to in:
    is a type of: balance - a state of equilibrium
  4. (physics) a stress that produces an elongation of an elastic physical body (synset 111535484)
    "the direction of maximum tension moves asymptotically toward the direction of the shear"
    referred to in: natural philosophy, physics - the science of matter and energy and their interactions
    is a type of: stress - (physics) force that produces strain on a physical body
  5. Feelings of hostility that are not manifest (synset 114004081)
    "he could sense her latent hostility to him"; "the diplomats' first concern was to reduce international tensions"
    is a type of: antagonism, enmity, hostility - a state of deep-seated ill-will
    same as: latent hostility
  6. The action of stretching something tight (synset 100367501)
    "tension holds the belt in the pulleys"
    is a type of: stretching - act of expanding by lengthening or widening

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