tension

The word “tension” means a feeling of unease, stress, or unresolved conflict between people. In plain terms, either emotional strain between people, or a physical stretching force.

“Tension” is pronounced TEHNSHN (/ˈtɛnʃən/ in IPA).

Here is “tension” used in a sentence: “There was noticeable tension between the two departments after the merger.”

“Tension” is a noun.

The word “tension” comes from Latin. From Latin tensio, from tendere ("to stretch"), borrowed into English via Middle French tension.

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

“Tension” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a feeling of unease, stress, or unresolved conflict between people.

Emotionally, 'tension' describes a feeling of unease or unresolved conflict, often between people, whereas 'stress' is the strain a person feels under pressure. Physically, 'tension' is specifically the pulling force in something stretched tight, while 'stress' is a more general term for internal force within a material.

In the physical sense, 'tension' is the pulling force that stretches something tight, like a rope or cable being pulled from both ends. 'Compression' is the opposite: a pushing or squeezing force that shortens or presses a material together.

In the emotional sense, 'tension' often appears in phrases like 'rising tension', 'ease the tension', and 'tension between them'. In the physical sense, it pairs with words such as 'tension in the cable' or 'high tension', referring to a tight pulling force.

'Tension' is usually uncountable when describing a general mood, as in 'there was tension in the room'. It can be countable when referring to distinct strains or conflicts, as in 'the tensions between the two groups grew'.