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| ten·sion [ ténshən ] (plural ten·sions) |
noun |
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| Definition: |
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1. anxious feelings: mental worry or emotional strain that makes natural relaxed behavior impossible
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2. uneasy feeling in relationship: a state of wariness, mistrust, controlled hostility, or fear of hostility felt by countries, groups, or people in their dealings with one another
(
often used in the plural
)
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3. tautness: the degree to which something such as a wire, string, thread, or muscle is stretched
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4. literature buildup of suspense: the buildup of suspense in a fictional work, leading to the denouement
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5. literature sense of conflict: the way that opposing characters clash or interact in an interesting way with each other in a literary work
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6. handicraft device controlling tightness of thread: a device on a sewing machine or a loom that regulates how tight the thread is
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7. physics pulling force: a force that pulls or stretches something
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8. physics stress from tension: the stress resulting from a force of tension, or a measure of it
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9. electricity voltage: voltage or electromotive force
(
often used in combination
)
  high-tension wires
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| [Mid-16th century. Directly or via French< Latin tension- "stretching" < tendere "stretch"] |
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| ten·sion·al adjective |
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