1
as in worried
feeling or showing uncomfortable feelings of uncertainty
was tense about the upcoming bar exam
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in uneasy
marked by or causing agitation or uncomfortable feelings
a tense relationship existed between the two teachers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in tight
stretched with little or no give
a tense rope
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 tense
Joey Nolfi Published, EW.com, 30 May 2025
Oklahoma City led by as many as 39 points to turn an otherwise tense deciding game Wednesday into a blowout, led by 34 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who last week was named the NBA's Most Valuable Player.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 29 May 2025
Jeffrey Collins, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2025
Moore briefly smiled, may have tensed her jaw and uttered one word to the person next to her, according to a lip-reader hired by the Daily Mail to decipher her reaction.
—Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tense
Adjective
The tense exchange came Friday morning after Joy Behar introduced a Hot Topic about Democrats investing in communications with young male voters after Trump over performed with the demographic when Americans headed to the polls last year.
—Joey Nolfi Published, EW.com, 30 May 2025
Oklahoma City led by as many as 39 points to turn an otherwise tense deciding game Wednesday into a blowout, led by 34 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who last week was named the NBA's Most Valuable Player.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 29 May 2025
Verb
Sigmon’s arms briefly tensed when he was shot, and the target was blasted off his chest.
—Jeffrey Collins, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2025
Moore briefly smiled, may have tensed her jaw and uttered one word to the person next to her, according to a lip-reader hired by the Daily Mail to decipher her reaction.
—Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tense
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tense
Adjective
-
Georgia, too, is worried about Ginny's behind-the-scenes machinations.—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
7 June 2025
-
While Republicans in Congress have been pushing for major Medicaid cuts in the new budget, many Medicaid enrollees are worried about what this means for their health coverage — including those who identify as Republican.—
Suzanne Blake,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 June 2025
Adjective
-
Some are bigger than others: economic uncertainty, changing customer behaviors, personal isolation, leadership burnout, marketing crisis, brand reputation, uneasy board members, investor expectations, consumer confidence, health issues and family challenges.—
Nancy Padberg,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2025
-
But Musk’s rebuke has energized fiscal hawks in the Senate who were already uneasy with the legislation’s scope.—
Nik Popli,
Time,
3 June 2025
Adjective
-
Money was tighter than a banjo string around the Carter house at that time.—
Tim Carter,
Hartford Courant,
14 June 2025
-
All three teams are putting on a show, and with the race so tight, the trio of teams could be fighting for the same prizes when the trade deadline arrives.—
Hunter Mulholland,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 June 2025
Adjective
-
The video highlighted how visibly nervous Jessie was while using jokes to get through the show.—
Tomás Mier,
Rolling Stone,
6 June 2025
-
In a video played on Thursday's episode of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Hamill is shown giving his opening monologue declaring his love for film when a nervous expression crosses his face.—
Mekishana Pierre Updated,
EW.com,
5 June 2025
Adjective
-
The withdrawn teen obsessively draws dark spiders in class and shows a disturbing fixation on news reports of school shootings.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
6 June 2025
-
His disturbing legacy drew the attention of filmmaker and former HBO executive Kary Antholis, who had followed the case for decades.—
JP Mangalindan,
Time,
4 June 2025
Adjective
-
He’s had a particularly taut tightrope to walk on Medicaid, called Medi-Cal in California.—
David Lightman,
Sacbee.com,
5 June 2025
-
The fly hangs on its own taut line below the mesh tent peak and simply pulls closed from inside.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
2 June 2025
Adjective
-
On Tires, Gerben plays Will, the anxious and unqualified son of the auto-repair chain's owner.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
5 June 2025
-
As a result, children can become frustrated and anxious when trying to learn math.—
Jennifer Pierce,
USA Today,
3 June 2025
Adjective
-
Graham says the casting team had considered looking for an older boy, given the demands of the role and the show’s unsettling subject matter.—
Glenn Whipp,
Los Angeles Times,
10 June 2025
-
Human Parallels: Our Bias Toward Confident Eloquence Perhaps most unsettling is how closely this AI limitation mirrors a persistent human cognitive bias.—
Cornelia C. Walther,
Forbes.com,
10 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tense.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tense. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share