Taut

a.	1.	(Naut.) Tight; stretched; not slack; - said esp. of a rope that is tightly strained.
	2.	Snug; close; firm; secure. Taut hand (Naut.) a sailor's term for an officer who is severe in discipline.

Adj.	1.	taut - pulled or drawn tight; "taut sails"; "a tight drumhead"; "a tight rope" Synonyms: tight
	2.	taut - subjected to great tension; stretched tight; "the skin of his face looked drawn and tight"; "her nerves were taut as the strings of a bow" Synonyms: drawn

all ataunto, anxious, apprehensive, ataunt, bungup and bilge-free, close, dragged out, drawn, drawn out, elongated, extended, in suspense, in trim, keyed-up, lengthened, neat, on edge, on tenterhooks, on tiptoe, orderly, pokerlike, prolongated, prolonged, protracted, pulled, quivering, ramrodlike, renitent, rigid, rodlike, shipshape, smart, spruce, spun out, starched, starchy, stiff, stiff as buckram, straggling, strained, stretched out, stretched tight, strung out, tidy, trig, trim, under a strain, unrelaxed, uptight, virgate, with bated breath, with muscles tense