Tense

n.	1.	(Gram.) One of the forms which a verb takes by inflection or by adding auxiliary words, so as to indicate the time of the action or event signified; the modification which verbs undergo for the indication of time.
a.	1.	Stretched tightly; strained to stiffness; rigid; not lax; as, a tense fiber. The temples were sunk, her forehead was tense, and a fatal paleness was upon her. - Goldsmith.

Noun	1.	tense - a grammatical category of verbs used to express distinctions of time
Verb	1.	tense - stretch or force to the limit; "strain the rope" Synonyms: strain
	2.	tense - increase the tension on; "tense a rope"
	3.	tense - become tense or tenser; "He tensed up when he saw his opponent enter the room" Synonyms: tense up Antonyms: relax, decompress, unwind, loosen up, slow down, unbend - become less tense, rest, or take one's ease; "He relaxed in the hot tub"; "Let's all relax after a hard day's work"
	4.	tense - make tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious; Synonyms: tense up, strain Antonyms: make relaxed, unlax, unstrain, unwind, relax, loosen up - cause to feel relaxed; "A hot bath always relaxes me"
Adj.	1.	tense - in or of a state of physical or nervous tension Antonyms: at ease, relaxed - without strain or anxiety; "gave the impression of being quite relaxed"; "a relaxed and informal discussion"
	2.	tense - pronounced with relatively tense tongue muscles (e.g., the vowel sound in `beat') Antonyms: lax - pronounced with muscles relatively relaxed (e.g., the vowel sound in `bet')
	3.	tense - taut or rigid; stretched tight; "tense piano strings" Antonyms: lax - not taut or rigid; not stretched or held tight; "a lax rope"

TENSE. A term used in, grammar to denote the distinction of time.
2. The acts of a court of justice ought to be in the present tense; as, "praeceptum est," not "preaceptum fuit;" but the acts of, the party may be in the preterperfect tense, as "venit, et protulit hic in curia quandum querelam suam;" and the continuances are in the preterperfect tense; as, "venerunt," not "veniunt." 1 Mod. 81.
3. The contract of marriage should be made in language in the present tense. 6 Binn. Rep. 405. Vide 1 Saund. 393, n. 1.

tense - Of programs, very clever and efficient. A tense piece of code often got that way because it was highly bum med, but sometimes it was just based on a great idea. A comment in a clever routine by Mike Kazar, once a grad-student hacker at CMU: "This routine is so tense it will bring tears to your eyes." A tense programmer is one who produces tense code.

accented, agitated, all-overish, alveolar, antsy, anxious, anxioused up, aorist, apical, apico-alveolar, apico-dental, apprehensive, articulated, assimilated, back, barytone, bilabial, bothered, brace, broad, cacuminal, central, cerebral, checked, chill, chilly, chronology, close, cold, concerned, consonant, consonantal, continuant, continue, continuity, cool, dental, disaccordant, disquieted, disquieting, dissimilated, distressed, distressing, disturbed, disturbing, dorsal, drag out, dragged out, draw, draw out, drawn, drawn out, duration, durative, duree, edgy, elongate, elongated, extend, extended, fearful, fidgety, firm, flat, fluttery, foreboding, fraught, front, frosty, fussy, future, future perfect, glide, glossal, glottal, guttural, hard, haul, heave, heavy, high, high-strung, historical present, icy, imperfect, in a pucker, in a stew, in suspense, incompatible, inhospitable, inimical, intense, intonated, jittery, jumpy, keyed up, keyed-up, labial, labiodental, labiovelar, lastingness, lateral, lengthen, lengthen out, lengthened, let out, light, lingual, liquid, low, mid, misgiving, monophthongal, muted, narrow, nasal, nasalized, nerve-racking, nervous, nervy, occlusive, on edge, on tenterhooks, on tiptoe, open, overanxious, overapprehensive, overexert, overextend, overstrain, overtax, overwrought, oxytone, palatal, palatalized, past, past perfect, perfect, period, perturbed, pharyngeal, pharyngealized, phonemic, phonetic, phonic, pitch, pitched, pluperfect, point tense, pokerlike, posttonic, present, present perfect, press, preterit, produce, progressive tense, prolong, prolongate, prolongated, prolonged, protract, protracted, psychological time, pull, pulled, queasy, quivering, rack, ramrodlike, reinforce, renitent, restive, restless, retroflex, rigid, rigidify, rodlike, rounded, rusty, screw up, semivowel, shore up, soft, solicitous, sonant, space, space-time, spin out, spun out, starched, starchy, stiff, stiff as buckram, stiffen, stopped, straggling, strain, strain every nerve, strengthen, stress, stressed, stressful, stretch, stretch out, stretched out, stretched tight, string out, strong, strung out, surd, suspenseful, sweat blood, syllabic, taut, tauten, tax, tension, term, the future, the past, the present, thick, throaty, tide, tighten, time, timebinding, tonal, tonic, trice up, troubled, tug, twangy, unaccented, unamiable, unamicable, uncordial, under a strain, uneasy, unfriendly, ungenial, unharmonious, unquiet, unrelaxed, unrestful, unrounded, unsettled, unsociable, unstressed, upset, uptight, velar, virgate, vocalic, vocoid, voiced, voiceless, vowel, vowellike, weak, while, wide, with bated breath, with muscles tense, worked up, worried, worrisome, worrying, wound up, wrought up, zealous

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