TENSENESS

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does tenseness mean? 

• TENSENESS (noun)
  The noun TENSENESS has 2 senses:

1. the physical condition of being stretched or strained

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

  Familiarity information: TENSENESS used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• TENSENESS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The physical condition of being stretched or strained

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

tautness; tenseness; tension; tensity

Context example:

he could feel the tenseness of her body

Hypernyms ("tenseness" is a kind of...):

condition; status (a state at a particular time)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "tenseness"):

tone; tonicity; tonus (the elastic tension of living muscles, arteries, etc. that facilitate response to stimuli)

Derivation:

tense (taut or rigid; stretched tight)

Sense 2

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

stress; tenseness; tension

Context example:

stress is a vasoconstrictor

Hypernyms ("tenseness" is a kind of...):

mental strain; nervous strain; strain ((psychology) nervousness resulting from mental stress)

Domain category:

psychological science; psychology (the science of mental life)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "tenseness"):

yips (nervous tension that causes an athlete to fail (especially causes golfers to miss short putts))

breaking point ((psychology) stress at which a person breaks down or a situation becomes crucial)

Derivation:

tense (in or of a state of physical or nervous tension)

 Context examples 

There was no tenseness in her body, her arms did not go around him, and her lips met his without their wonted pressure.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Yet all three animals were keyed to a tenseness of living that was almost painful, and scarcely ever would it come to them to be more alive than they were then in their seeming petrifaction.

(White Fang, by Jack London)