Synonyms for tense
tɛns

Princeton's WordNet(2.78 / 9 votes)Rate these synonyms:

1. tense(adj)

   a grammatical category of verbs used to express distinctions of time

   Antonyms:
   limp, loose-jointed, laid-back, relaxed, loose, sagging, lax, tensionless, floppy, drooping, unstrained, mellow, droopy, slack, degage, loosen up, unstrain, slow down, relax, unwind, make relaxed, decompress, unlax, unbend

2. tense(adj)

   in or of a state of physical or nervous tension

   Antonyms:
   loose-jointed, slack, drooping, lax, droopy, degage, mellow, limp, sagging, floppy, loose, relaxed, tensionless, laid-back, unstrained, unwind, decompress, relax, unlax, loosen up, unbend, unstrain, slow down, make relaxed

3. tense(adj)

   pronounced with relatively tense tongue muscles (e.g., the vowel sound in `beat')

   Antonyms:
   droopy, loose-jointed, sagging, lax, degage, loose, slack, unstrained, limp, floppy, mellow, laid-back, relaxed, drooping, tensionless, relax, unlax, unwind, unbend, unstrain, loosen up, make relaxed, slow down, decompress

4. tense(verb)

   taut or rigid; stretched tight

   "tense piano strings"

   Antonyms:
   slack, lax, droopy, limp, loose-jointed, unstrained, relaxed, drooping, sagging, laid-back, degage, mellow, loose, floppy, tensionless, unwind, make relaxed, relax, decompress, unstrain, slow down, unbend, unlax, loosen up

5. strain, tense(verb)

   become stretched or tense or taut

   "the bodybuilder's neck muscles tensed;" "the rope strained when the weight was attached"

   Synonyms:
   sieve, separate out, strain, filter out, tense up, reach, puree, try, sift, filter, extend, distort, strive, filtrate, deform, stress

   Antonyms:
   limp, loose-jointed, relaxed, mellow, drooping, droopy, unstrained, floppy, degage, laid-back, lax, slack, sagging, loose, tensionless, loosen up, unwind, relax, unbend, make relaxed, unstrain, slow down, unlax, decompress

6. tense(verb)

   increase the tension on

   "alternately relax and tense your calf muscle"; "tense the rope manually before tensing the spring"

   Synonyms:
   strain, tense up

   Antonyms:
   lax, limp, tensionless, floppy, relaxed, mellow, slack, loose, droopy, unstrained, laid-back, loose-jointed, sagging, degage, drooping, slow down, relax, loosen up, unlax, unwind, decompress, unstrain, make relaxed, unbend

7. tense, tense up(verb)

   become tense, nervous, or uneasy

   "He tensed up when he saw his opponent enter the room"

   Synonyms:
   strain, tense up

   Antonyms:
   sagging, lax, floppy, degage, loose-jointed, laid-back, limp, mellow, unstrained, slack, relaxed, drooping, tensionless, droopy, loose, unwind, slow down, make relaxed, relax, decompress, loosen up, unlax, unbend, unstrain

8. tense, strain, tense up(verb)

   cause to be tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious

   "he got a phone call from his lawyer that tensed him up"

   Synonyms:
   sieve, separate out, reach, strain, filter out, tense up, stress, puree, try, sift, filter, extend, distort, strive, filtrate, deform

   Antonyms:
   relaxed, sagging, lax, droopy, limp, loose, floppy, laid-back, drooping, mellow, tensionless, slack, unstrained, degage, loose-jointed, unbend, unstrain, slow down, unlax, unwind, decompress, relax, make relaxed, loosen up

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate these synonyms:

1. nervous

   Submitted by anonymous on September 30, 2020  

2. sitting on thorns

   Submitted by anonymous on January 5, 2021  

Dictionary of English Synonymes(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate these synonyms:

1. tense(a.)

   Synonyms:
   tight, stretched, strained, TAUGHT, rigid, not loose, not lax

PPDB, the paraphrase database(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate these paraphrases:

1. List of paraphrases for "tense":

   strained, restive, tension, taut, nervous, jittery, high-strung, tight, voltage, fraught, uptight, intense, intensive, volatile, stretched

How to pronounce tense?

Alex

US English

Daniel

British

Karen

Australian

Veena

Indian

How to say tense in sign language?

Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use tense in a sentence?

1. Mark Nelson:

   If there are leave voters and European nationals sitting quite near each other, you can see the audience getting kind of tense, i like creating that kind of atmosphere.

2. President Francis Duseux:

   Every day we use the equivalent of about one day of consumption. At worst, if the situation remains very tense, we can do this for three months.

3. German Chancellor Angela Merkel:

   Of course every country has a right to defend its territory but on the other hand we know how tense the situation is in Syria and in the surrounding area.

4. Maurizio Bufalini:

   In a situation that was already so tense, for a person with their own platform, a famous person, to say the right thing to do is sabotage the site seemed to us absolutely out of place.

5. The French:

   It was a.. . very tense game against a formidable opponent but we did not give up and we wore them down, i would have liked us to play more in the first half so the second half would have been easier but I guess this will be freeing us for the remainder of the tournament.

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