tense

Word family  noun tenseness tension adjective tense verb tense adverb tensely

 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++tense1 /tens/ ●●○ AWL adjective  1  NERVOUSWORRIEDa tense situation is one in which you feel very anxious and worried because of something bad that might happen 〔形势〕令人紧张的 → tensiontense situation/atmosphere/moment etc Marion spoke, eager to break the tense silence. 玛丽昂说话了，急于打破这令人紧张的沉默。► see thesaurus at nervous2  feeling worried, uncomfortable, and unable to relax 紧张的，焦虑不安的 OPP relaxed Is anything wrong? You look a little tense. 有什么不对劲吗？你看起来有点紧张。3  RELAXEDunable to relax your body or part of your body because your muscles feel tight 〔肌肉〕紧张的，绷紧的 → tension Massage is great if your neck and back are tense. 如果颈部和背部肌肉紧张，按摩很管用。 She tried to relax her tense muscles. 她试图放松紧张的肌肉。 —tensely adverb —tenseness noun [uncountable]

Examples from the Corpus

tense• When someone mentioned Andy's time in prison, the atmosphere grew tense.• At night I fall into bed weary instead of tense.• Faced with this living miscegenation, I had spells of getting all minimalist, which rendered things a bit tense.• Her tone was anxious now, her face tense.• The atmosphere in the waiting room was extremely tense.• I always feel tense after driving all day.• I tried parries, but they were tight, tense, and ineffective.• Mary's problems at work were making her tense and irritable.• So Allen lay tense and still, watching.• His shoulders felt tense and the top of the range hissed as a tear escaped from his eyes.• The negotiations became increasingly tense as the weeks went by.• Williams looked a little tense before the game.• In the program, the hostages re-live the tense days they spent under guard in East Africa.• I can feel you're really tense in your lower back.• When you are tense it is hard to relax but that is just what you need to do.• The journey through the mountains went well even though there were a few tense moments when the car skidded.• tense muscles• There was a tense silence, and then everyone began to laugh.• In the tense silence that followed, the boys fidgeted uneasily.• You seem awfully tense - why don't you have a drink and try to relax?• They stared silently at the impenetrable curtain surrounding the ship, and each face was tense with anxiety.tense situation/atmosphere/moment etc• Bored or tense atmosphere. 2.• It is a single-elimination tournament, which should provide many tense moments.• They looked horrible and gave their fans some unnecessarily tense moments.• You can see it in their eyes -- years of tense situations and busting cocaine mules.• It was a tense moment for everyone because he couldn't control where he landed or his speed.• This is not to say that there have not been tense moments in the sub.• I felt a tense atmosphere of anxiousness build between us.• I can vividly remember the tense atmosphere prevailing amongst all Washington crews during December 1952 and January 1953.

Related topics: Grammar

tense2 ●●○ noun [countable, uncountable]  SLGany of the forms of a verb that show the time, continuance, or completion of an action or state that is expressed by the verb. ‘I am’ is in the present tense, ‘I was’ is past tense, and ‘I will be’ is future tense. 〔动词的〕时态

Examples from the Corpus

tense• Again, the rewriting task will require changing tenses.• The former wrote of the apostles in the past tense.• Switching from the future to the present tense has other advantages.• In Amalgamemnon Brooke-Rose gets round this problem by using non-realized tenses and moods.• Another section is devoted entirely to grammar drills, including the use of prepositions, comparatives, negatives and verb tenses.tense3 (also tense up) verb [intransitive, transitive]  TIGHTto make your muscles tight and stiff, or to become tight and stiff 使〔肌肉〕绷紧；僵直 Relax, and try not to tense up so much. 放松，尽量不要把肌肉绷得这么紧。 Every time the phone rang, she tensed. 每次电话铃一响她就紧张。→ See Verb table

Examples from the Corpus

tense• He frowns, he tenses - he peers into a sloping hollow.• She tensed involuntarily, looking into his eyes with growing panic.• I tensed on the controls, involuntarily leaning forward, ready to take off.• Neal tensed slightly as the plane took off.• He put his arm around me, and I tensed up.• Stephen, lying in a shellhole with Byrne, felt his body tense with hatred at the sound of them.• But I was not scared and my legs did not tense with the need for flight.• She tensed with the need to resist the powerful feelings he was evoking.Origin tense1 (1600-1700) Latin “stretched”, from the past participle of tendere; → TEND tense3 (1300-1400) Old French tens “time, tense”, from Latin tempus “time”

tense1 adjectivetense2 nountense3 verbChinese  

which is one tense a situation Corpus you in

tense

I

tense¹ AC /tens/ adjective1. a tense situation is one in which you feel very anxious and worried because of something bad that might happen ⇨ tension
    tense situation/atmosphere/moment etc
    Marion spoke, eager to break the tense silence.
2. feeling worried, uncomfortable, and unable to relax
   OPP  relaxed:
    Is anything wrong? You look a little tense.
3. unable to relax your body or part of your body because your muscles feel tight ⇨ tension:
    Massage is great if your neck and back are tense.
    She tried to relax her tense muscles.
—tensely adverb
—tenseness noun [uncountable]
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ nervous worried or a little frightened about something and unable to relax: Kelly was so nervous about her exam that she couldn’t sleep. | It makes me nervous when you drive that fast.
   ▪ tense worried and unable to relax in a way that makes you get angry or upset easily: Mary’s problems at work were making her tense and irritable.
   ▪ uneasy nervous because you feel that something bad might happen, so that you are unable to relax until the danger has passed: I began to feel uneasy when he still hadn’t phoned by 11 o'clock.
   ▪ on edge if you are on edge or your nerves are on edge, you feel nervous because you are worried about what might happen: My nerves were on edge, waiting for the results of the test. | Redundancies and other work upheavals have put employees on edge.
   ▪ neurotic nervous and anxious in a way that is not normal or reasonable: She’s completely neurotic about food hygiene. | a neurotic mother
   ▪ edgy/jumpy/jittery nervous because you are worried about what might happen: Investors are a little edgy about the financial markets these days. | There was a lot of pressure on the team tonight and that’s why they were a little jumpy.
   ▪ highly-strung British English, high-strung American English becoming nervous or upset easily because that is your character: Like many musicians, he’s very sensitive and highly-strung.
   ▪ be a nervous wreck to feel extremely nervous and unable to relax: After 10 months of teaching, I was a total nervous wreck.
   ▪ have butterflies (in your stomach) informal to feel nervous about something that you are going to do very soon because it is important and you want to do it well: Actors often have butterflies before going on stage.

II

tense² (also tense up) verb [intransitive and transitive]to make your muscles tight and stiff, or to become tight and stiff:
    Relax, and try not to tense up so much.
    Every time the phone rang, she tensed.

III

tense³ noun [uncountable and countable]any of the forms of a verb that show the time, continuance, or completion of an action or state that is expressed by the verb. ‘I am’ is in the present tense, ‘I was’ is past tense, and ‘I will be’ is future tense.