What does TENSE mean?

Pronunciation
/tɛns/
Letters
5
Scrabble score
5
Words With Friends score
6
How common
Fairly common

Meaning

noun

  1. a grammatical category of verbs used to express distinctions of time

verb

  1. become stretched or tense or taut“the bodybuilder's neck muscles tensed;”
  2. increase the tension on“alternately relax and tense your calf muscle”
  3. become tense, nervous, or uneasy“He tensed up when he saw his opponent enter the room”
  4. cause to be tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious“he got a phone call from his lawyer that tensed him up”

adjective

  1. in or of a state of physical or nervous tension
  2. pronounced with relatively tense tongue muscles (e.g., the vowel sound in `beat')
  3. taut or rigid; stretched tight“tense piano strings”

Definitions from Princeton WordNet 3.0.

Other forms

tenser6tenses6tensest7tensing8

Anagrams of TENSE

teens5 sente5

Words inside TENSE

20 shorter words can be made from these letters. Here are the most useful.

nest4 nets4seen4sene4sent4 teen4 tees4tens4ens3nee3net3 see3 sen3 set3 tee3 ten3 en2 es2et2ne2

See every word in the unscrambler →

Anagrams of TENSE

Word lists

Questions

Is TENSE a valid word in word games?

TENSE is in the ENABLE word list, which many word games use, so it is very likely to be accepted. Check your game's own dictionary if a play is challenged.

How many points is TENSE worth?

TENSE is worth 5 points with Scrabble letter values and 6 with Words With Friends values, before any bonus squares.

What words can you make from TENSE?

20 other words, including SEE, SET, SEEN and SENT.