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tense
/tɛns/
stressed or nervous
She felt tense before her job interview.
She was nervous and anxious before her job interview.
informal
Stressed, nervous, or anxious due to anticipation or pressure.
The tense atmosphere in the room made everyone uncomfortable.
The nervous and anxious mood in the room made everyone uneasy.
Often used to describe a state of mental or emotional strain.
technical
A grammatical category that expresses time (past, present, future) and aspect (continuous, perfect, etc.) in a verb.
The past tense of 'go' is 'went'.
The past tense form of the verb 'go' is 'went'.
In linguistics, tense refers to the temporal reference of a verb.
Collocations
tense upto become nervous or anxioustense situationa stressful or dangerous situationtense momenta moment of high stress or anxiety
Antonyms
Related Phrases
Pro Tip
Grammatical vs. Emotional Use
Remember that 'tense' can refer to both a grammatical category and an emotional state. Context will help you determine the correct meaning.
Gold Rule
Adjective vs. Noun
As an adjective, 'tense' describes a state of nervousness. As a noun, it refers to a grammatical category of verbs.
Word Origin
From Middle English 'tens', from Old French 'tens', from Latin 'tensus', past participle of 'tendere' (to stretch).
Usage Notes
As a noun, 'tense' refers to a grammatical category. As an adjective, it describes a state of nervousness or stress.
Word Breakdown
tense
stressed or nervous
rootEnglish Dictionary