tension means the condition of being held in a state between two or more forces, which are acting in opposition to each other.
tension is pronounced /ˈtɛnʃən/.
Why “tension” is a great word
A state of being stretched tight, either as a physical condition of strain or as the mental and emotional pressure arising from opposing forces. From Middle French tension, from Latin tēnsiōnem (stem of tēnsiō, "a stretching"), from tendere ("to stretch"); first recorded in English between 1525 and 1535. Unlike "stress" (which denotes an adverse reaction to external pressure) or "relaxation" (which signifies the direct release of strain), tension is the latent condition of strain itself—palpable, suspended, often internal. It is the high wire humming before the first step, the held breath in a darkened room listening for a footstep, or the silent space between two characters who have everything and nothing to say—the necessary, agonizing prelude to every possible resolution.
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French tension, from Latin tēnsiō.
noun
- The condition of being held in a state between two or more forces, which are acting in opposition to each other.e.g.“My tensions with Eric over his alleged past actions have been fully resolved.”
- 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).e.g.“Most of the overhead system is of the weight-tensioned type, constant tension being automatically applied by balance weights.” — 1959 June 7, “Clacton and Walton Electrification”, in Railway Magazine, page 379:
- Voltage.
verb
- To place an object in tension, to pull or place strain on.e.g.“We tensioned the cable until it snapped.”
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.