tension

Plural: tensions

Noun

• (psychology) a state of mental or emotional strain or suspense
  • "he suffered from fatigue and emotional tension"
• the physical condition of being stretched or strained
  • "it places great tension on the leg muscles"
• a balance between and interplay of opposing elements or tendencies (especially in art or literature)
  • "there is a tension created between narrative time and movie time"
  • "there is a tension between these approaches to understanding history"
• (physics) a stress that produces an elongation of an elastic physical body
  • "the direction of maximum tension moves asymptotically toward the direction of the shear"
• feelings of hostility that are not manifest
  • "the diplomats' first concern was to reduce international tensions"
• the action of stretching something tight
  • "tension holds the belt in the pulleys"
• The condition of being held in a state between two or more forces, which are acting in opposition to each other.
• A psychological state of being tense.
• A feeling of nervousness, excitement, or fear that is created in a movie, book, etc.; suspense.
• The state of an elastic object which is stretched in a way which increases its length.
• A force transmitted through a rope, string, cable, or similar object (used with prepositions on, in, or of, e.g., "The tension in the cable is 1000 N", to convey that the same magnitude of force applies to objects attached to both ends).
• Voltage.

Verb

• To place an object in tension, to pull or place strain on.

Examples

• "My tensions with Eric over his alleged past actions have been fully resolved."
• "We tensioned the cable until it snapped."

Synonyms

latent hostility, stress, tautness, tenseness, tensity

Related Words

tensile