Transcription
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
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- [tens]
- /tɛns/
- /tens/
-
- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
-
- [tens]
- /tɛns/
Definitions of tense word
- adjective tense in a state of mental or nervous strain; high-strung; taut: a tense person. 2
- adjective tense characterized by a strain upon the nerves or feelings: a tense moment. 2
- adjective tense stretched tight, as a cord, fiber, etc.; drawn taut; rigid. 1
- adjective tense Phonetics. pronounced with relatively tense tongue muscles; narrow. Compare lax (def 7). 1
- noun tense a category of verbal inflection that serves chiefly to specify the time of the action or state expressed by the verb. 1
- noun tense a set of such categories or constructions in a particular language. 1
Information block about the term
Origin of tense
First appearance:
before 1660 One of the 46% oldest English words
1660-70; < Latin tēnsus past participle of tendere to stretch; see tend1
Historical Comparancy
Parts of speech for Tense
noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
tense popularity
A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 95% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".
tense usage trend in Literature
This diagram is provided by Google Ngram ViewerSynonyms for tense
adj tense
- ac — AC is used to refer to an electric current that continually changes direction as it flows. AC is an abbreviation for 'alternating current'.
- aflutter — in or into a nervous or excited state
- all shook up — shaken, upset
- anguished — Anguished means showing or feeling great mental suffering or physical pain.
- arthritic — Arthritic is used to describe the condition, the pain, or the symptoms of arthritis.
verb tense
- astringe — to contract or become contracted
- astringed — to compress; bind together; constrict.
- caked — If something is caked with mud, blood, or dirt, it is covered with a thick dry layer of it.
- candied — Food such as candied fruit has been covered with sugar or has been cooked in sugar syrup.
- candying — any of a variety of confections made with sugar, syrup, etc., often combined with chocolate, fruit, nuts, etc.
adjective tense
- agitated — If someone is agitated, they are very worried or upset, and show this in their behaviour, movements, or voice.
- anxious — If you are anxious to do something or anxious that something should happen, you very much want to do it or very much want it to happen.
- clutched — to hatch (chickens).
- detonative — (of an explosive, or ordnance) That is liable to detonate spontaneously.
- disharmonious — inharmonious; discordant.
Antonyms for tense
verb tense
- breathe easy — to take air, oxygen, etc., into the lungs and expel it; inhale and exhale; respire.
- cool off — If someone or something cools off, or if you cool them off, they become cooler after having been hot.
- ease off — freedom from labor, pain, or physical annoyance; tranquil rest; comfort: to enjoy one's ease.
- hang loose — to let loose; free from bonds or restraint.
- lay down — to put or place in a horizontal position or position of rest; set down: to lay a book on a desk.
adjective tense
- easy — not hard or difficult; requiring no great labor or effort: a book that is easy to read; an easy victory.
- elastic — (of an object or material) able to resume its normal shape spontaneously after contraction, dilatation, or distortion.
- lax — not strict or severe; careless or negligent: lax morals; a lax attitude toward discipline.
Top questions with tense
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