Analysis Complete

tense

/ tense /

noun/verb

Definitions & Examples

noun Sense 1

a grammatical category of verbs used to express distinctions of time

Type of:

grammatical category syntactic category

Kinds of:

present present tense aorist past past tense

verb Sense 2

make tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious;

Opposites:

relax unstrain unlax loosen up unwind

Type of:

affect

Kinds of:

crick stretch extend

Derived:

strain tension tensity tenseness tautness

Causes:

tense up

Usage Patterns:

Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something

Somebody ----s on something

verb Sense 3

become tense or tenser

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

Opposites:

relax loosen up unbend unwind decompress

Type of:

change state turn

Derived:

tension tensity tenseness tautness tensor

Usage Patterns:

Somebody ----s

Somebody ----s something

Somebody ----s INFINITIVE

verb Sense 4

increase the tension on

"tense a rope"

Type of:

change alter modify

Derived:

tension

Usage Patterns:

Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something

Somebody ----s somebody PP

adjective Sense 5

taut or rigid; stretched tight

"tense piano strings"

Similar:

overstrung taut tight

Opposites:

lax

Word Relationship Graph

Synonyms Antonyms Hypernyms Hyponyms

Related Words

grammatical category syntactic category present present tense aorist past past tense affect crick stretch extend relax