tenser
Further from relaxed
Tenser is the comparative form of tense.
A situation grows tenser as conflict escalates: The standoff became tenser with each passing hour.
Muscles can be tenser than usual from stress or exertion.
A person may seem tenser than their companions, meaning more anxious or on edge.
Stretched under tension
contracted · stretched · firm · unyielding · inflexible · hardened · constricted · clenched
Contracted a muscle
- clenchedContracted with force
- contractedReduced in size
- tightFirmly stretched or fitting
- stiffNot easily bent
knotted · cramped · spasming · gripping · braced · locked · seized · rigid
Increased in degree
- escalatedIncreased in severity
- intensifiedMade more extreme
- amplifiedIncreased in strength
- ratchetedIncreased by fixed steps
elevated · mounting · rising · growing · building · worsening
Troubled by uncertainty
- nervousUneasy and apprehensive
- edgyTense and irritable
- agitatedEmotionally disturbed, restless
- on-edgeTense and uneasy
apprehensive · uneasy · jittery · restless · wound-up · keyed-up · high-strung · overwrought
taut
Stretched under tension
flexed · contracted · stretched · firm · unyielding · inflexible · hardened · constricted · clenched · braced
flexed
Contracted a muscle
- clenchedContracted with force
- contractedReduced in size
- tightFirmly stretched or fitting
stiff · knotted · cramped · spasming · gripping · braced · locked · seized · rigid · strained
heightened
Increased in degree
- escalatedIncreased in severity
- intensifiedMade more extreme
- amplifiedIncreased in strength
ratcheted · elevated · mounting · rising · growing · building · worsening
anxious
Troubled by uncertainty
on-edge · apprehensive · uneasy · jittery · restless · wound-up · keyed-up · high-strung · overwrought · fidgety
strained
Under uncomfortable tension
- chargedFormally accused of crime
- fraughtFull of difficulty
- uncomfortableCausing unease or distress
awkward · uneasy · electric · pressured · suspenseful · loaded · heavy · thick · ominous · volatile
- tense upBecome rigid from stress
- past tenseVerb form for before
- high tensionElevated electrical potential
- present tenseVerb form indicating now
- romantic tensionUnresolved mutual attraction
- simple tensesUncompounded verb forms
intense, tense, tension, intensity, intensify, intensely, pretense, tensed, tenses