tense up
Muscles go rigid
To tense up is to become rigid or tight, whether physically or emotionally.
Muscles tense up before exertion or in response to stress.
A person tenses up when anxious or anticipating something unpleasant: I always tense up before job interviews.
The opposite is to relax or loosen up.
Enforceable written agreement
tauten · constrict · grip · lock · cramp · seize · harden · brace
Device providing structural stability
- awaitRemain expectant for
- expectConsider likely to occur
- dreadIntense anticipatory fear
- suspenseAnxious uncertainty about outcomes
foreboding · apprehension · readiness · vigilance · watchfulness · premonition · on guard · waiting
Uneasy and apprehensive
- worryTroubled mental state
- fearEmotional response to threat
- dreadIntense anticipatory fear
- uneaseMild persistent worry
jitters · panic · trepidation · apprehension · edginess · restlessness · agitation · hypervigilance
Device providing structural stability
- readySuitable for use now
- alertWarning or watchfulness
- focusConcentrated attention point
- steadyFixed, not fluctuating
poise · steel oneself · gear up · psych up · set · fortify · compose · center
Force upon contact
- strainExcessive stretching force
- overwhelmDefeat by excess
- distressSevere anxiety or suffering
- frazzledMentally and physically depleted
burnout · cortisol · fight-or-flight · adrenaline · breaking point · high-strung · overworked · taxed
contract
Enforceable written agreement
flex · tauten · constrict · grip · lock · cramp · seize · harden · brace · squeeze
brace
Device providing structural stability
suspense · foreboding · apprehension · readiness · vigilance · watchfulness · premonition · on guard · waiting · holding breath
nervous
Uneasy and apprehensive
unease · jitters · panic · trepidation · apprehension · edginess · restlessness · agitation · hypervigilance · fidgeting
brace
Device providing structural stability
steady · poise · steel oneself · gear up · psych up · set · fortify · compose · center · gird
pressure
Force upon contact
frazzled · burnout · cortisol · fight-or-flight · adrenaline · breaking point · high-strung · overworked · taxed · burdened
tense upcalm down
Become less agitated
relax · chill out · unwind · settle down · de-stress
tense uplet one's guard down
Cease being defensive
stand down · relax · ease off · uncoil · drop one's guard
tent, intense, tend, tense, tension, intensity, intensify, pretense, tensed