tense/tens/

a.

➊ nervous and anxious

➋ (of a muscle) tight and stiff

n. a grammatical term used to show the time of an action

a.

➊ 紧张的：He looks tense, there must be something happening to him. 他看上去很紧张，一定发生了什么事。

◇a tense situation 紧张的形势

➋ 紧绷的，不松弛的：A bath can relax your tense muscles. 洗澡可以放松紧绷的肌肉。

n. [C; U] 时态：the past tense 过去时

◇the present tense 现在时

构词源自tend(=stretch 拉伸)

音组-ense/-ens/

expense; sense; tense