tensile

UK: /ˈtɛnsaɪl/

US: /ˈtɛnsəl, -sɪl, -saɪl/

US: (ten′səl, -sil or, esp. Brit., -sīl)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

ten•sile /ˈtɛnsəl, -sɪl, -saɪl/   adj. 

1. Mechanics of or relating to tension:
   tensile strain on a wire.

See -tend-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

ten•sile  (ten′səl, -sil or, esp. Brit., -sīl), adj. 

1. Mechanics of or pertaining to tension:
   tensile strain.
2. Mechanics capable of being stretched or drawn out; ductile.

• Neo-Latin tēnsilis. See tense¹, -ile
• 1620–30

ten•sil•i•ty  (ten sil′i tē), ten′sile•ness, n.  ten′sile•ly, adv. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

tensile / ˈtɛnsaɪl/ adjective

1. of or relating to tension
2. sufficiently ductile to be stretched or drawn out

Etymology: 17th Century: from New Latin tensilis, from Latin tendere to stretch

tensility / tɛnˈsɪlɪtɪ/, ˈtensileness noun