Tense
/tɛns/
adjectivenounverbB1
Definition
As an adjective, tense describes a feeling of nervousness or stress, like when your body or mind is tight because of worry or fear. As a noun, tense is a form of a verb that shows when an action happens, like past, present, or future. As a verb, tense means to make muscles tight or to become nervous.
Was this helpful?
See It in Action
Adjective: feeling nervous or stressed
- •She felt tense before her job interview.
- •The atmosphere in the room was tense during the argument.
- •His muscles were tense after running for a long time.
Noun: a verb form showing time
- •The past tense of "go" is "went."
- •English has many tenses to show when actions happen.
- •You should learn the present tense before the past tense.
Verb: to make tight or nervous
- •He tensed his muscles before lifting the heavy box.
- •She tensed when she heard the strange noise.
- •The dog tensed and started barking loudly.
Make It Stick
- ✓Think of "tense" like "tight" (A1 word), but for feelings or muscles—it means not relaxed but stretched or nervous
- ✓Picture someone holding their breath and clenching their fists before an important test, their body feels tense
- ✓It's the feeling when you wait for your turn to speak in front of many people and your heart beats fast
- ✓Sounds like "tense" → imagine a tense string on a guitar that is pulled very tight and ready to play music
- ✓Think of a movie scene where characters are quiet and serious, waiting for something bad to happen—that's a tense moment
- ✓NOT like "relaxed" (calm and loose), "tense" means tight and nervous or ready for action
- ✓NOT like "calm" (peaceful), "tense" shows stress or pressure inside or outside the body
- ✓As a noun, NOT like "time" in general, but "tense" is the special verb form showing when something happens
- ✓As a verb, NOT like "loosen" (make loose), but "tense" means to make tight or stressed
Try Other Words
- •Nervous: feeling worried or anxious (Use when focusing on feelings, less physical than "tense")
- •Stressed: feeling pressure or worry (Use when the cause is pressure or difficulty)
- •Tight: physically pulled or stretched (Use when talking about muscles or objects)
- •Anxious: worried or uneasy (Use when the feeling is strong worry about the future)
Unboxing
- •Word parts: Root word "tense" comes from Latin "tensus" meaning stretched or tight
- •Etymology: From Latin "tendere," meaning to stretch
- •Historical development: Originally used to describe physical tightness, later also used for feelings and verb forms
- •Modern usage: Used in grammar to describe verb time forms; used in everyday language to describe feelings or physical tightness
- •Interesting fact: The word connects physical tightness with emotional stress, showing how our body and feelings relate
Reflect & Connect
•How do your body and mind feel different when you are tense compared to relaxed?
•Can tense situations sometimes help people do better, or do they only make things harder?
Fill in the blanks
1.Before the exam, she felt tense because she was ___ about the results.
2.When muscles are tense, they are usually ___ and not relaxed.
3.The past ___ of "run" is "ran," showing action happened before now.
4.He tensed his shoulders ___ the loud noise outside.
5.A tense atmosphere often happens when people ___ disagree or argue.
6.Unlike calm moments, tense moments make people feel ___ or worried.
7.The teacher asked the students to practice the present ___ first, then the past tense.