Hypertext Webster Gateway: "tense"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Tense \Tense\, a. [L. tensus, p. p. of tendere to stretch. See
{Tend} to move, and cf. {Toise}.]
Stretched tightly; strained to stiffness; rigid; not lax; as,
a tense fiber.
The temples were sunk, her forehead was tense, and a
fatal paleness was upon her. --Goldsmith.
-- {Tense"ly}, adv. -- {Tense"ness}, n.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Tense \Tense\, n. [OF. tens, properly, time, F. temps time,
tense. See {Temporal} of time, and cf. {Thing}.] (Gram.)
One of the forms which a verb takes by inflection or by
adding auxiliary words, so as to indicate the time of the
action or event signified; the modification which verbs
undergo for the indication of time.
Note: The primary simple tenses are three: those which
express time past, present, and future; but these admit
of modifications, which differ in different languages.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
tense
adj 1: in or of a state of physical or nervous tension [ant: {relaxed}]
2: (phonetics) pronounced with relatively tense tongue muscles
(e.g., the vowel sound in `beat') [ant: {lax}]
3: taut or rigid; stretched tight; "tense piano strings" [ant:
{lax}]
n : a grammatical category of verbs used to express distinctions
of time
v 1: stretch or force to the limit; "strain the rope" [syn: {strain}]
2: increase the tension on; "tense a rope"
3: become tense or tenser; "He tensed up when he saw his
opponent enter the room" [syn: {tense up}] [ant: {relax}]
4: make tense [syn: {strain}, {tense up}] [ant: {relax}, {relax}]
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