1. tense, grammatical category, syntactic category

usage: a grammatical category of verbs used to express distinctions of time


1. strain, tense, tighten


2. tense, change, alter, modify


3. tense, tense up, change state, turn


4. tense, strain, tense up, affect



1. tense (vs. relaxed), aroused, wound up, cliff-hanging, suspenseful, suspensive, nail-biting, taut, antsy, fidgety, fretful, itchy, edgy, high-strung, highly strung, jittery, jumpy, nervy, overstrung, restive, uptight, electric, isotonic, nervous, strained, unrelaxed, pumped-up(prenominal), pumped up(predicate), pumped(predicate), wired, agitated, uneasy

usage: in or of a state of physical or nervous tension

2. tense (vs. lax), constricted


3. tense (vs. lax), overstrung, taut, tight, tight

usage: taut or rigid; stretched tight; "tense piano strings"

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See also: tense (Dictionary)