51Թ

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tense

1

[tens]

adjective

tenser, tensest 
  1. stretched tight, as a cord, fiber, etc.; drawn taut; rigid.

  2. in a state of mental or nervous strain; high-strung; taut.

    a tense person.

  3. characterized by a strain upon the nerves or feelings.

    a tense moment.

  4. Phonetics.pronounced with relatively tense tongue muscles; narrow.



verb (used with or without object)

tensed, tensing 
  1. to make or become tense.

tense

2

[tens]

noun

  1. a category of verbal inflection that serves chiefly to specify the time of the action or state expressed by the verb.

  2. a set of such categories or constructions in a particular language.

  3. the time, as past, present, or future, expressed by such a category.

  4. such categories or constructions, or their meanings collectively.

tense

1

/ ɛԲ /

adjective

  1. stretched or stressed tightly; taut or rigid

  2. under mental or emotional strain

  3. producing mental or emotional strain

    a tense day

  4. (of a speech sound) pronounced with considerable muscular effort and having relatively precise accuracy of articulation and considerable duration Compare lax

    in English the vowel (iː) in ``beam'' is tense

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. (often foll by up) to make or become tense

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

tense

2

/ ɛԲ /

noun

  1. grammar a category of the verb or verbal inflections, such as present, past, and future, that expresses the temporal relations between what is reported in a sentence and the time of its utterance

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

tense

  1. An inflectional (see inflection) form of verbs; it expresses the time at which the action described by the verb takes place. The major tenses are past, present, and future. The verb in “I sing” is in the present tense; in “I sang,” past tense; in “I will sing,” future tense. Other tenses are the present perfect (“I have sung”), the past perfect (“I had sung”), and the future perfect (“I will have sung”).

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Other 51Թ Forms

  • tensely adverb
  • tenseness noun
  • untensing adjective
  • tenseless adjective
  • tenselessly adverb
  • tenselessness noun
  • ˈٱԲԱ noun
  • ˈٱԲ adverb
  • ˈٱԲ adjective
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of tense1

First recorded in 1660–70; from Latin ŧԲܲ, past participle of tendere “to stretch”; tend 1

Origin of tense2

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English tens, from Middle French, from Latin tempus “t”
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of tense1

C17: from Latin tensus taut, from tendere to stretch

Origin of tense2

C14: from Old French tens time, from Latin tempus
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

They picked at this particular South Africa scab with their verbal armoury of salty snipes when a tense chase began.

From

The tense triumph crowns Bath as champions of England for the seventh time in their history but the first since 1996.

From

Things were looking tense in Los Angeles on Thursday even before federal agents took down U.S.

From

Jury deliberations proved tense last week as well, when one juror said others were "shunning" one member of the panel, calling it "playground stuff".

From

So the possibility that federal immigration officials will be on-site at a major international soccer match less than a year before the World Cup returns to the U.S. figures to inflame an already tense situation.

From

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Tensastensegrity