tense

Feeling or showing worry, with your body stiff and unable to relax.

• I feel tense today.
• Her shoulders became tense before the interview.
• Why did he look so tense?

Similar words: uptight, strained

Opposites: relaxed

Common phrases: feel tense, tense shoulders, look tense

Feeling worried and unable to relax, or full of worry and uncertainty.

• I feel tense before exams.
• The room grew tense when he entered.
• She was too tense to enjoy the evening.

Similar words: nervous, anxious, strained

Opposites: relaxed, calm

Common phrases: feel tense, tense atmosphere, tense moment

Stretched tight rather than loose.

• The rope was tense between the posts.
• His tense muscles stood out as he pulled.
• She kept the bowstring tense until the target was clear.

Similar words: taut, tight

Opposites: slack, loose

Common phrases: tense muscles, tense wire, tense rope

Pulled tight, with no loose parts.

• The wire was tense.
• A tense string stretched across the frame.
• Keep the rope tense while I tie it.

Similar words: taut, tight

Opposites: slack, loose

Common phrases: tense wire, tense string

The system of verb forms used to show when something happens, such as in the past or present.

• We studied tense in our grammar lesson.
• English verbs show tense through changes in form.
• The teacher explained how tense helps readers follow a story.

Common phrases: past tense, present tense, tense system

A form of a verb that shows when an action or situation happens.

• Use the past tense here.
• She changed the verb to the present tense.
• Some verbs look the same in both tenses.

How to use it: in the ... tense (Write this sentence in the past tense.)

Similar words: time form

Common phrases: past tense, present tense, change the tense

A verb form or combination showing time, whether an action continues, or how the speaker presents it.

• Today we practiced the present perfect tense.
• Which tense should I use for an unfinished action?
• The book calls this construction the conditional tense.

How to use it: in the ... tense (Describe the scene in the present continuous tense.)

Common phrases: perfect tense, continuous tense, conditional tense

The grammatical feature that shows the time of an action or state.

• This language marks tense with verb endings.
• Tense and aspect express different kinds of information.
• Some languages do not require speakers to indicate tense.

Common phrases: mark tense, grammatical tense, tense and aspect