Synonyms for tense
tɛnstense

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:2.8 / 9 votes

1. tenseadjective

   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. tenseadjective

   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. tenseadjective

   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. tenseverb

   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, tenseverb

   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. tenseverb

   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 upverb

   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 upverb

   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

Matched Categories

1. • Change
   • Phonetics

Editors ContributionRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. nervous

   Submitted by anonymous on September 30, 2020  

2. sitting on thorns

   Submitted by anonymous on January 5, 2021  

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. tenseadjective

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

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

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?

How to say tense in sign language?

Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use tense in a sentence?

1. Jamison Weeks:

   I'm planning on boarding up my house this evening, the mood is a little tense, everybody's a little nervous and just trying to prepare as best as possible.

2. Stephen Espinoza:

   Like many people, I had my doubts about whether this would be Floyd Mayweather Sr. last fight, i say that in the past tense because over the course of the last four weeks, I've changed my mind.

3. Kat Wilson:

   I hate cars, I don't trust people driving them, especially in New Jersey, and I see a lot of accidents and New Jersey's scary. When someone pulls into our lane, maybe from a parking lot, I just automatically tense up.

4. Wladimir Klitschko:

   The situation is tense, people are worried, the city needs peace and peaceful skies … Kyiv residents have been in their basements nonstop for a week now because of air raid alarm going off all the time.

5. Brian Sicknick:

   They were very charming, they knew what they were doing, they knew how to talk to us, but we kind of held back, it was just, it was tense, and we made believe everything was fine and we were very nice to them, for the most part.