tensing
Muscles drawing taut
Tensing is making or becoming tense—tightening muscles, adding stress, or increasing strain.
A person tensing up before a difficult conversation shows anxiety through physical rigidity.
In grammar, tensing a verb means putting it into a particular tense: She was tensing all her verbs incorrectly.
Tense a muscle
- clenchSqueeze tightly shut
- tightenMake more secure
- constrictTo squeeze tightly
- contractEnforceable written agreement
squeeze · brace · grip · lock · strain · cramp · spasm · knot
Excessive stretching force
- overexertionHarmful excess of effort
- pullForce toward oneself
- tightnessState of being constricted
- achePersistent dull discomfort
soreness · discomfort · fatigue · cramping · knotting · stiffening · guarding · bracing
Persistent apprehensive distress
- nervousnessState of anxious unease
- stressPressure, mental or vocal
- worryTroubled mental state
- apprehensionNervous anticipation of trouble
unease · edginess · jitters · agitation · restlessness · bracing · guardedness · vigilance
Anxious uncertainty about outcomes
- anticipationState of awaiting something
- buildupGradual accumulation over time
- climaxPoint of greatest intensity
- cliffhangerSuspenseful unresolved ending
foreboding · uncertainty · drama · stakes · momentum · pacing · thriller · intrigue
flex
Tense a muscle
contract · squeeze · brace · grip · lock · strain · cramp · spasm · knot · coil
strain
Excessive stretching force
- overexertionHarmful excess of effort
- pullForce toward oneself
- tightnessState of being constricted
ache · soreness · discomfort · fatigue · cramping · knotting · stiffening · guarding · bracing · gripping
anxiety
Persistent apprehensive distress
- nervousnessState of anxious unease
- stressPressure, mental or vocal
- worryTroubled mental state
apprehension · unease · edginess · jitters · agitation · restlessness · bracing · guardedness · vigilance · alertness
suspense
Anxious uncertainty about outcomes
- anticipationState of awaiting something
- buildupGradual accumulation over time
- climaxPoint of greatest intensity
cliffhanger · foreboding · uncertainty · drama · stakes · momentum · pacing · thriller · intrigue · edge-of-seat
- vowel changesablaut, umlaut, vowel lengthening, Great Vowel Shift, monophthongization
- body movementsflexion, bend, twist, standing, extension
- stress reactionspanic, fear, fright, terror, horror
- tighteningclamping, cinching, tensioning, grip, ratcheting
- balanceequilibrium, balancing, harmony, stability, symmetry
- reflexesreflex, reflexes, reflex action, reflex response, quick reflexes
tensingrelaxing
Becoming less tense
loosening · slackening · releasing · unclenching · slacking
- high tensionElevated electrical potential
- romantic tensionUnresolved mutual attraction
- sexual tensionUnresolved erotic anticipation
- emotional tensionPsychological pressure from feelings
- tension headachePain from muscle tightness
- surface tensionCohesive force at liquid interfaces