as in to tighten
to draw tight he tautened the rope and then tied it off

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of tauten From that queasiness comes bristly tension, tautening and deepening what otherwise seems a low-key, low-stakes character study, and eventually a sweet, conciliatory sliver of hope too. Guy Lodge, Variety, 18 Feb. 2023 Pimples pop, pupils dilate, tendons tauten, and breathing gets so shallow that people fall into respiratory acidosis. John Pearley Huffman, Car and Driver, 20 Apr. 2022 Those systems use hydraulics or electromagnetic fluids to soften or tauten the ride. Jack Stewart, WIRED, 9 Apr. 2018 BMW’s adaptive dampers stifle road imperfections and tauten the 5 Series for hard cornering. Miles Branman, Orange County Register, 26 Feb. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tauten
Verb
  • However, more countries are looking to tighten restrictions on who can get a passport, making citizenship a more urgent goal.
    Dan Gooding, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 July 2025
  • The race is bound to tighten somewhat after the September preliminary election, when the field will be winnowed to just Kraft and Wu.
    Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 22 July 2025
Verb
  • Your neck muscles begin to tense, and your heart beat begins to rise.
    Janice Marturano, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
  • My muscles tensed, my heart pounded and my body performed a maneuver on its own accord.
    Amir Ahmadi Arian, The Dial, 10 June 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Tauten.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tauten. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!