Dictionary entry details
• TENSION (noun)
Meaning:
Feelings of hostility that are not manifest
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Synonyms:
latent hostility; tension
Context examples:
he could sense her latent hostility to him / the diplomats' first concern was to reduce international tensions
Hypernyms ("tension" is a kind of...):
antagonism; enmity; hostility (a state of deep-seated ill-will)
Meaning:
(psychology) a state of mental or emotional strain or suspense
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Synonyms:
tension; tenseness; stress
Context examples:
he suffered from fatigue and emotional tension / stress is a vasoconstrictor
Hypernyms ("tension" 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 "tension"):
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)
Meaning:
The physical condition of being stretched or strained
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Synonyms:
tautness; tenseness; tensity; tension
Context examples:
it places great tension on the leg muscles / he could feel the tenseness of her body
Hypernyms ("tension" is a kind of...):
condition; status (a state at a particular time)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "tension"):
tone; tonicity; tonus (the elastic tension of living muscles, arteries, etc. that facilitate response to stimuli)
Meaning:
A balance between and interplay of opposing elements or tendencies (especially in art or literature)
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Context examples:
there is a tension created between narrative time and movie time / there is a tension between these approaches to understanding history
Hypernyms ("tension" is a kind of...):
balance (a state of equilibrium)
Domain category:
literature (creative writing of recognized artistic value)
art; artistic creation; artistic production (the creation of beautiful or significant things)
Meaning:
(physics) a stress that produces an elongation of an elastic physical body
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural phenomena
Context example:
the direction of maximum tension moves asymptotically toward the direction of the shear
Hypernyms ("tension" is a kind of...):
stress ((physics) force that produces strain on a physical body)
Domain category:
natural philosophy; physical science; physics (the science of matter and energy and their interactions)
Meaning:
The action of stretching something tight
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Context example:
tension holds the belt in the pulleys
Hypernyms ("tension" is a kind of...):
stretching (act of expanding by lengthening or widening)
