tensed
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Related to tensed: tensed up
tense 1
(tĕns)adj. tens·er, tens·est
2.
a. In a state of nervous tension or mental strain: was very tense before the exam.
b. Causing or characterized by nervous tension or mental strain: a tense standoff between border patrols.
3. Linguistics Enunciated with taut muscles, as the sound (ē) in keen.
tr. & intr.v. tensed, tens·ing, tens·es
To make or become tense.
tense′ly adv.
tense′ness n.
tense 2
(tĕns)n. Grammar
1. A property of verbs in which the time of the action or state, as well as its continuance or completion, is indicated or expressed.
2. A category or set of verb forms that indicate or express the time, such as past, present, or future, of the action or state.
[Middle English tens, from Old French, time, from Latin tempus.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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Adj. | 1. | tensed - having inflections to indicate tense finite - of verbs; relating to forms of the verb that are limited in time by a tense and (usually) show agreement with number and person |
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