Meanings
tense1
plural tenses
- uncountablehuman sciencesThe property of indicating the point in time at which an action or state of being occurs or exists.
Dyirbal verbs are not inflected for tense.
- countablegrammarAn inflected form of a verb that indicates tense.
English only has a past tense and a non-past tense; it has no future tense.
1 more example
In ſo moche that if any verbe be of the thyꝛde coniugation I ſet out all his rotes and tenſes[…]
1530 July 18, Iohan Palſgrave, “The Introduction”, in Leſclarciſſement de la langue francoyſe […] , London: Richard Pynſon, Iohan Haukyns, →OCLC, page 32; reprinted as Lesclarcissement de la langue françoyse, Genève: Slatkine Reprints, 1972 - countableproscribedgrammarA grammatical aspect.
present singular third person tenses · participle present tensing · participle past tensed · past tensed
- transitivegrammarTo apply a tense to.
tensing a verb
tense2
comparative tenser · superlative tensest
- Showing signs of stress or strain; not relaxed.
You need to relax, all this overtime and stress is making you tense.
2 more examples
"Attention," the tense man called out in Greek. "This is Lieutenant Kazamakis of the Cypriot Provisional Guard. You will immediately surrender all weapons and slowly come down the stairs, hands above your head." No answer.
2009 October 21, Richard Steinberg, The 4 Phase Man: A Novel, Bantam, →ISBN"There's no one in the house," Sahas cut him off quickly. "Actually[,] I have sent them away. I thought that only the two of us should share the special surprise." He gave a tense smile.
2018 February 10, Ratna Chandu,, For a Girl in a Star, Sristhi Publishers & Distributors, →ISBN - Characterized by strain (on the nerves, emotions, etc). (Compare charged.)
Chi stops, but her eyes continue to pierce right through me and into Karima. A tense moment later, she drops her eyes back to the terminal and scans the data once more. The showdown is over, at least for the moment.
2022 June 16, Marc B. DeGeorge, A Call to the Sky, MuseMarc Studio LLC, →ISBN - human sciencesProduced with relative constriction of the vocal tract.
present singular third person tenses · participle present tensing · participle past tensed · past tensed
- transitiveTo make tense.
- intransitiveTo become tense.
The driver and the man shouted angrily at each other and I tensed, ready for violence. But soon everyone in the tap-tap joined in, capping remarks, joking, telling chicken and goat stories.
1983 December 24, Andrea Loewenstein, “"What's Freedom Without Food In Your Stomach?" — A Trip to Haiti”, in Gay Community News, volume 11, number 23, page 8
Synonyms & antonyms
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivein or of a state of physical or nervous tension
adjectivepronounced with relatively tense tongue muscles (e.g., the vowel sound in ‘beat’)
verbcause to be tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
tense · noun, verb
- Latintempus
- Old Frenchtens
- Middle Englishtens
- Englishtense
From Middle English tens, from Old French tens (modern French temps), from Latin tempus. Doublet of tempo and tempus.
More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →tense · adjective, verb
- Latintēnsus
- Englishtense
Borrowed from Latin tēnsus, one form of the past participle of tendō (“stretch”).
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans tyd, tempus
- tydverb forms distinguishing time
- tempusverb forms distinguishing time
- gespanneshowing stress or strain
- styfshowing stress or strain
Ancient Greek χρόνος
- χρόνος (khrónos)verb forms distinguishing time
Arabic صِيغَة, صِيغَةُ الْفِعْل
- صِيغَة (ṣīḡa)verb forms distinguishing time
- صِيغَةُ الْفِعْل (ṣīḡatu l-fiʕl)verb forms distinguishing time
- زَمَن (zaman)verb forms distinguishing time
- مُتَوَتِّر (mutawattir)showing stress or strain
Bulgarian вре́ме, напрегнат
- вре́ме (vréme)verb forms distinguishing time
- напрегнат (napregnat)showing stress or strain
- опънат (opănat)pulled taut
- обтегнат (obtegnat)pulled taut
- опъвам (opăvam)make tense
- напрягам (naprjagam)make tense
- напрягам се (naprjagam se)become tense
Catalan temps, tens
- tempsverb forms distinguishing time
- tensshowing stress or strain
- tesarmake tense
Chinese Mandarin 時態 /时态, 時制 /时制
- 時態 /时态 (shítài)verb forms distinguishing time
- 時制 /时制 (shízhì)verb forms distinguishing time
- 緊 /紧 (jǐn)showing stress or strain
- 緊張 /紧张 (jǐnzhāng)showing stress or strain
Czech čas, slovesný čas
- časverb forms distinguishing time
- slovesný časverb forms distinguishing time
- napjatýshowing stress or strain
- napnoutmake tense
Danish tempus
- tempusverb forms distinguishing time
Dutch tijd, tempus
- tijdverb forms distinguishing time
- tempusverb forms distinguishing time
- gespannenshowing stress or strain
- strakshowing stress or strain
- spannenmake tense
- opspannenmake tense
Esperanto streĉa, streĉita
- streĉashowing stress or strain
- streĉitashowing stress or strain
Estonian ajavorm, aeg
- ajavormverb forms distinguishing time
- aegverb forms distinguishing time
- tempusverb forms distinguishing time
- pingneshowing stress or strain
- pinevshowing stress or strain
- pinguletõmmatudpulled taut
- pinguldamamake tense
- pinguldumamake tense
Finnish aikaluokka, aikamuoto
- aikaluokkaverb forms distinguishing time
- aikamuotoverb forms distinguishing time
- tempusverb forms distinguishing time
- kireäshowing stress or strain
- jännittynytshowing stress or strain
- hermostunutshowing stress or strain
- kireäpulled taut
- jännitettypulled taut
- jännittäämake tense
- jännittyäbecome tense
French temps, temps verbal
- tempsverb forms distinguishing time
- temps verbalverb forms distinguishing time
- tendushowing stress or strain
- tendremake tense
- se tendrebecome tense
German Zeit, Tempus
- Zeitverb forms distinguishing time
- Tempusverb forms distinguishing time
- gespanntshowing stress or strain
- angespanntshowing stress or strain
- verkrampftshowing stress or strain
- gespanntpulled taut
- straffpulled taut
- spannenmake tense
- sich spannenbecome tense
- sich anspannenbecome tense
Greek χρόνος, τεταμένος
- χρόνος (chrónos)verb forms distinguishing time
- τεταμένος (tetaménos)showing stress or strain
- τεντωμένος (tentoménos)pulled taut
Hebrew זְמַן, מָתוּחַ
- זְמַן (z'man)verb forms distinguishing time
- מָתוּחַ (matúakh)showing stress or strain
Hindi काल
- काल (kāl)verb forms distinguishing time
Hungarian igeidő, feszült
- igeidőverb forms distinguishing time
- feszültshowing stress or strain
Icelandic tíð, upptrekktur
- tíðverb forms distinguishing time
- upptrekkturshowing stress or strain
- órólegurshowing stress or strain
Irish aimsir
- aimsirverb forms distinguishing time
Italian tempo
- tempoverb forms distinguishing time
Japanese 時制, 緊張した
- 時制 (jisei)verb forms distinguishing time
- 緊張した (kinchō shita)showing stress or strain
Korean 시제
- 시제 (sije)verb forms distinguishing time
Latin tempus
- tempusverb forms distinguishing time
Latvian laiks
- laiksverb forms distinguishing time
Lithuanian laikas
- laikasverb forms distinguishing time
Māori wā, wātū
- wāverb forms distinguishing time
- wātūverb forms distinguishing time
- wāhekeverb forms distinguishing time
- wāmuaverb forms distinguishing time
- āmaimaishowing stress or strain
Norwegian Bokmål tempus
- tempusverb forms distinguishing time
Persian زمان
- زمان (zamân)verb forms distinguishing time
Polish czas, naprężać
- czasverb forms distinguishing time
- naprężaćmake tense
- naprężyćmake tense
- naprężać siębecome tense
- naprężyć siębecome tense
Portuguese tempo, tenso
- tempoverb forms distinguishing time
- tensoshowing stress or strain
- estendidopulled taut
- tensionarmake tense
Romanian timp, încordat
- timpverb forms distinguishing time
- încordatshowing stress or strain
Russian вре́мя, напряжённый
- вре́мя (vrémja)verb forms distinguishing time
- напряжённый (naprjažónnyj)showing stress or strain
- туго́й (tugój)pulled taut
- натя́нутый (natjánutyj)pulled taut
- напряжённый (naprjažónnyj)produced with relative constriction of the vocal tract
Slovak čas
- časverb forms distinguishing time
Spanish tiempo, tenso
- tiempoverb forms distinguishing time
- tensoshowing stress or strain
- tensopulled taut
- tiestopulled taut
- tensarmake tense
- tensarsebecome tense
Swahili wakati
- wakativerb forms distinguishing time
Swedish tempus, spänd
- tempusverb forms distinguishing time
- spändshowing stress or strain
- spändpulled taut
Tagalog panahunan
- panahunanverb forms distinguishing time
Tamil காலம்
- காலம் (kālam)verb forms distinguishing time
Thai กาล
- กาล (gaan)verb forms distinguishing time
Turkish zaman, gergin
- zamanverb forms distinguishing time
- gerginshowing stress or strain
- gerginpulled taut
Ukrainian час, напружений
- час (čas)verb forms distinguishing time
- напружений (napruženyj)showing stress or strain
- тугий (tuhyj)pulled taut
- натя́гнутий (natjáhnutyj)pulled taut
- напру́жувати (naprúžuvaty)make tense
- напру́жити (naprúžyty)make tense
- напру́жуватися (naprúžuvatysja)become tense
- напру́житися (naprúžytysja)become tense
Vietnamese thì
- thìverb forms distinguishing time
Welsh amser
- amserverb forms distinguishing time
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with tense
Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
tense. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tense
“tense.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tense. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tense,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tense.
Source: tense on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.