Definitions for tension
ˈtɛn ʃənten·sion

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:3.2 / 9 votes

1. tension, tenseness, stressnoun

   (psychology) a state of mental or emotional strain or suspense

   "he suffered from fatigue and emotional tension"; "stress is a vasoconstrictor"

2. tension, tensity, tenseness, tautnessnoun

   the physical condition of being stretched or strained

   "it places great tension on the leg muscles"; "he could feel the tenseness of her body"

3. tensionnoun

   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"

4. tensionnoun

   (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"

5. latent hostility, tensionnoun

   feelings of hostility that are not manifest

   "he could sense her latent hostility to him"; "the diplomats' first concern was to reduce international tensions"

6. tensionnoun

   the action of stretching something tight

   "tension holds the belt in the pulleys"

WiktionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. tensionnoun

   Psychological state of being tense.

2. tensionnoun

   Condition of being held in a state between two or more forces, which are acting in opposition to each other

3. tensionnoun

   State of an elastic object which is stretched in a way which increases its length.

4. tensionnoun

   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).

5. tensionnoun

   Voltage. Usually only the terms low tension, high tension, and extra-high tension, and the abbreviations LT, HT, and EHT are used. They are not precisely defined; LT is normally a few volts, HT a few hundreds of volts, and EHT thousands of volts.

6. tensionverb

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

   We tensioned the cable until it snapped.

7. Etymology: From tension.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Tensionnoun

   The act of stretching; not laxation; the state of being stretched; not laxity.

   Etymology: tension, Fr. tensus, Lat.

   It can have nothing of vocal sound, voice being raised by stiff tension of the larynx; and on the contrary, this sound by a relaxed posture of the muscles thereof. William Holder.

   Still are the subtle strings in tension found,
   Like those of lutes, to just proportion wound,
   Which of the air’s vibration is the force. Richard Blackmore.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. tension

   Tension refers to the force exerted on an object that can cause the object to stretch, deform, or be pulled in opposite directions. It is also used to describe a state of mental, emotional, or financial strain or pressure.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:3.0 / 2 votes

1. Tensionadjective

   the act of stretching or straining; the state of being stretched or strained to stiffness; the state of being bent strained; as, the tension of the muscles, tension of the larynx

2. Tensionadjective

   fig.: Extreme strain of mind or excitement of feeling; intense effort

3. Tensionadjective

   the degree of stretching to which a wire, cord, piece of timber, or the like, is strained by drawing it in the direction of its length; strain

4. Tensionadjective

   the force by which a part is pulled when forming part of any system in equilibrium or in motion; as, the tension of a srting supporting a weight equals that weight

5. Tensionadjective

   a device for checking the delivery of the thread in a sewing machine, so as to give the stitch the required degree of tightness

6. Tensionadjective

   expansive force; the force with which the particles of a body, as a gas, tend to recede from each other and occupy a larger space; elastic force; elasticity; as, the tension of vapor; the tension of air

7. Tensionadjective

   the quality in consequence of which an electric charge tends to discharge itself, as into the air by a spark, or to pass from a body of greater to one of less electrical potential. It varies as the quantity of electricity upon a given area

WikidataRate this definition:4.0 / 1 vote

1. Tension

   In physics, tension is the pulling force exerted by a string, cable, chain, or similar solid object on another object. It results from the net electrostatic attraction between the particles in a solid when it is deformed so that the particles are further apart from each other than when at equilibrium, where this force is balanced by repulsion due to electron shells; as such, it is the pull exerted by a solid trying to restore its original, more compressed shape. Tension is the opposite of compression. Slackening is the reduction of tension. As tension is the magnitude of a force, it is measured in newtons and is always measured parallel to the string on which it applies. There are two basic possibilities for systems of objects held by strings: Either acceleration is zero and the system is therefore in equilibrium, or there is acceleration and therefore a net force is present. Note that a string is assumed to have negligible mass.

The Standard Electrical DictionaryRate this definition:2.0 / 1 vote

1. Tension

   Electro-motive force or potential difference in a current system is often thus termed. It is to be distinguished from intensity or current strength, which word it too greatly resembles.

Matched Categories

1. • Art
   • Balance
   • Condition
   • Physics
   • Psychology
   • Strain
   • Stress
   • Stretching

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'tension' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3003

2. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'tension' in Nouns Frequency: #1061

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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Anagrams for tension »

1. intones

2. stenion

How to pronounce tension?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say tension in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of tension in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of tension in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of tension in a Sentence

1. Adam Smiley Poswolsky:

   Even if there is still tension and even if you still need to take a friendship pause, or even a long( or permanent) break from spending time together, that appreciation will go a long way to building empathy and mutual understanding.

2. Jacinda Ardern:

   We have seen in countries that know the horrors of terrorism more than us, there is a pattern of increased tension and actions over the weeks that follow that means we do need to ensure that vigilance is maintained.

3. London Capital Group Kelly:

   All this geopolitical tension is helping these defence stocks, and the fact that they are going to increase the anti-terrorist spend is aiding and abetting these moves upwards.

4. Mireille Fanon Mendes-France:

   The Dominican Republic does not recognize the existence of a structural problem of racism and xenophobia, but it must address these issues as a matter of priority so the country can live free from tension and fear.

5. Deborah Carr:

   Some forms of marital strain can be protective, but support can be stifling, marital conflict does n’t necessarily mean tension and discord, it can be squabbles over things like, ‘ why did n’t you take your meds ? ’ .

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=tension
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Tension
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=tension
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tension
6. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=tension
7. ^ The Standard Electrical Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/26535/pg26535-images.html#:~:text=tension
8. ^ Usage in printed sources
   https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=tension