tensest
Maximally wound up
Tensest is the superlative form of tense—the most tense.
It describes the highest degree of tightness, anxiety, or strain: That was the tensest moment of the entire film.
The word applies to muscles, situations, or atmospheres: the tensest negotiations in decades.
Stretched under tension
- strainedUnder uncomfortable tension
- rigidUnable to bend
- stiffNot easily bent
- contractedReduced in size
clenched · constricted · tight · flexed · braced · knotted · locked · coiled
Under uncomfortable tension
- fraughtFull of difficulty
- volatileLiable to sudden change
- chargedFormally accused of crime
- heatedWarmed or passionate
critical · precarious · knife-edge · high-stakes · climactic · nail-biting · white-knuckle · do-or-die
Troubled by uncertainty
- nervousUneasy and apprehensive
- stressedOverwhelmed by pressure
- worriedTroubled by uncertainty
- apprehensiveFearful of future events
on-edge · agitated · restless · jittery · panicked · fearful · uneasy · distressed
Holding attention completely
- thrillingIntensely exciting
- edge-of-seatIntensely suspenseful experience
- nail-bitingExtremely tense or anxious
- cliffhangerSuspenseful unresolved ending
breathless · heart-pounding · riveting · nerve-wracking · anticipation · uncertainty · buildup · climax
taut
Stretched under tension
contracted · clenched · constricted · tight · flexed · braced · knotted · locked · coiled · wound
strained
Under uncomfortable tension
heated · critical · precarious · knife-edge · high-stakes · climactic · nail-biting · white-knuckle · do-or-die · make-or-break
anxious
Troubled by uncertainty
apprehensive · on-edge · agitated · restless · jittery · panicked · fearful · uneasy · distressed · overwrought
gripping
Holding attention completely
- thrillingIntensely exciting
- edge-of-seatIntensely suspenseful experience
- nail-bitingExtremely tense or anxious
cliffhanger · breathless · heart-pounding · riveting · nerve-wracking · anticipation · uncertainty · buildup · climax · dramatic
- tense upBecome rigid from stress
- past tenseVerb form for before
- present tenseVerb form indicating now
- simple tensesUncompounded verb forms
- future tenseVerb form for later
- verb tenseTime form of action words
intense, tense, pretense, tensed, tenses, tensely, tenser, pretenses