tense

UK:*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈtɛns/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/tɛns/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(tens)

Inflections of 'tense' (adj):
tenser
adj comparative
tensest
adj superlative
Inflections of 'tense' (v): (⇒ conjugate)
tenses
v 3rd person singular
tensing
v pres p
tensed
v past
tensed
v past p
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WordReference English-Spanish Dictionary © 2025:

Principal Translations
InglésEspañol
tense adj (person: anxious) (persona)tenso/a adj
  nervioso/a adj
  preocupado/a adj
  estresado/a adj
 Philip felt tense while he waited for his results.
 Phililip estaba tenso mientras esperaba los resultados.
tense adj (atmosphere: strained) (ambiente)tenso/a adj
 Things were tense in the meeting as people had very different opinions on the issue.
 Las cosas estaban tensas en la reunión porque la gente tenía opiniones muy distintas sobre el tema.
tense adj (taut, tight) (literal)tenso/a adj
  tirante adj
  estirado/a adj
 Carol's tense muscles finally began to relax under the masseuse's expert touch.
 Los músculos tensos de Carol se empezaron a relajar bajo la mano mágica del masajista.
tense,
verb tense n		 (grammar: inflected verb form) (gramática: verbos)tiempo nm
 Using the correct tense helps people to understand what you're saying.
 Usar los tiempos correctos ayuda a la gente a entender lo que estás diciendo.
tense⇒ vi (person: become anxious)estresarse⇒ v prnl
  ponerse tenso loc verb
 The burglar tensed as the police officer passed just inches from his hiding place.
 El ladrón se estresó cuando el policía pasó a apenas centímetros de su escondite.
tense vi (muscle: become taut or clenched)ponerse tenso loc verb
 Alison's jaw tensed as she thought about how rude her mother-in-law had been.
 La mandíbula de Alison se puso tensa cuando pensó en lo grosera que había sido su suegra.
tense [sth]⇒ vtr (clench: muscle, body part)tensar⇒ vtr
 Robert tensed his leg muscles, ready to run.
 Roberto tensó los músculos de su pierna, listo para correr.
  Is something important missing? Report an error or suggest an improvement.

WordReference English-Spanish Dictionary © 2025:

Compound Forms:
InglésEspañol
future perfect tense n (grammar: will have done, etc.)futuro perfecto nm + adj
future tense n (grammar: will do, etc.)futuro nm
  tiempo futuro nm + adj
 In English, the future tense has two forms: I will dance and I am going to dance.
 El futuro tiene dos formas: iré a bailar y voy a ir a bailar.
past tense n (grammar: verb tense of past actions or states)pasado nm
 The past tense of the verb 'to walk' is 'walked'.
 ⓘEsta oración no es una traducción de la original. Para mañana, escriban estas oraciones en el pasado.
  (gramática)pretérito nm
Note: También llamado: pretérito perfecto simple.
 ⓘEsta oración no es una traducción de la original. El pretérito de primera persona singular del verbo "correr" es "corrí".
  (gramática)tiempo pasado nm
 ⓘEsta oración no es una traducción de la original. Amé, "amaste" y "amó" son todas formas del tiempo pasado del verbo "amar".
perfect tense n (grammar: have done, etc.) (gramática)tiempo perfecto loc nom m
 In English, perfect tenses are formed with the auxiliary "have" and a past participle.
 En inglés, el tiempo perfecto se forma con el auxiliar "have" y el participio pasado.
  (gramática)tiempos perfectos loc nom mpl
 En inglés, los tiempos perfectos se forman con el auxiliar "have" y el participio pasado.
present perfect tense,
present perfect n		 (grammar: have been, etc.)pretérito perfecto nm + adj
  pretérito perfecto compuesto loc nom m
  (gramática inglesa)presente perfecto nm + adj
 In this exercise, students have to decide whether to use the present perfect tense or the past simple tense.
 En este ejercicio, los estudiantes deben elegir si usar el pretérito perfecto o el pretérito indefinido.
present tense n (grammar) (Gramática)presente nm
 In this lesson, the students learn how to use the present tense.
 En esta lección, los estudiantes aprenden a usar el presente.
tense up vi + adv (person: become anxious)ponerse tenso loc verb
  estresarse⇒ v prnl
 Helen tensed up as the doctor approached with her results.
 Helen se puso tensa cuando el doctor se acercó con los resultados.
tense up vi + adv (muscle: become taut or clenched)ponerse tenso loc verb
  tensarse⇒ v prnl
 Rick could feel his neck muscles tensing up, as he became more and more stressed.
 Rick sentía los músculos de su cuello ponerse tensos a medida que se estresaba.
  Is something important missing? Report an error or suggest an improvement.

'tense' aparece también en las siguientes entradas:
In the English description:
aorist - clench - clomb - compound - conditional - could - defuse - fraught - future perfect - get stressed out - highly strung - hypertonic - imperfect - in suspense - intense - irregular verb - jittery - keyed up - nail-biter - nail-biting - on edge - overstrung - passé composé - past - past continuous - past participle - past perfect - past tense - perfect - pluperfect - present - present continuous - present perfect - present simple - preterite - progressive - pt - relax - relaxed - shall - simple past - situation - stiffen - strained - strained relations - stress - stress out - stressed out - stressful - strung up
Spanish:
crispado - tensionar - enrarecido - modo - tirante - estresado - tiempo - copretérito - estresar - indicativo - modo indicativo - modo subjuntivo - pararse de uñas - pretérito - pretérito imperfecto - pretérito perfecto simple - tensar - tensionado - tenso - tiempo compuesto

Collocations: his [body, muscles, stomach, face] tensed (up), his [body] tensed (up) from the [pain, effort], she tensed (up) her [body], more...

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See Google Translate's machine translation of 'tense'.

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