tense

The word “tense” means feeling or showing stress, anxiety, or strain; not relaxed. In plain terms, either "stressed and on edge" or the grammar term for a verb's time reference (past/present/future).

“Tense” is pronounced tehns (/tɛns/ in IPA).

Here is “tense” used in a sentence: “The room went tense the moment she mentioned the layoffs.”

Depending on how it is used, “tense” can be an adjective and a noun.

The word “tense” comes from Latin. From Old French tens (modern French temps), from Latin tempus ("time"). Doublet of tempo.

“Tense” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

“Tense” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: feeling or showing stress, anxiety, or strain; not relaxed.

"Tense" describes a state of stress, strain, or being unable to relax, which can show in the body and in the atmosphere, while "nervous" focuses on worry or fear about something specific. A whole room can feel tense, but a person is nervous before an exam.

"Tense" emphasises physical and mental strain and a lack of relaxation, while "anxious" emphasises worry or unease about a possible outcome. You can feel tense from a hard day even with nothing to fear, but you feel anxious when you are worried about what might happen.

In grammar, "tense" is the verb form that shows when an action happens, and English has three basic tenses: past, present, and future. Each can combine with aspects such as simple, continuous, and perfect to produce forms like "past continuous" or "present perfect."

The two senses are unrelated in meaning but share the same spelling. One "tense" is an adjective for feeling stressed or strained, while the other is a grammar noun for the time-form of a verb; the context makes clear which is meant.