tension
/ˈtɛnʃən/ noun B1- The condition of being held in a state between two or more forces, which are acting in opposition to each other. · My tensions with Eric over his alleged past actions have been fully resolved.
- A psychological state of being tense.
- A feeling of nervousness, excitement, or fear that is created in a movie, book, etc.; suspense.
- The state of an elastic object which is stretched in a way which increases its length.
- A force transmitted through a rope, string, cable, or similar object (used with prepositions on, in, or of, e.g., "The tension in the cable is 1000 N", to convey that the same magnitude of force applies to objects attached to both ends).
- Voltage.
Plural tensions
From the library
My limbs were weary and stiff, for I feared to change my position; yet my nerves were worked up to the highest pitch of tension, and my hearing was so acute that I could not only hear the gentle breathing of my companions, but I could distinguish the deeper, heavier in-breath of the bulky Jones from the thin, sighing note of the bank director.
I could not hear a sound, not even the drawing of a breath, and yet I knew that my companion sat open-eyed, within a few feet of me, in the same state of nervous tension in which I was myself.
It was not Holmes’s nature to take an aimless holiday, and something about his pale, worn face told me that his nerves were at their highest tension.
Some of his own holdings were imperilled, and the man was working like some high-geared, delicate, strong machine—strung to full tension, going at full speed, accurate, never hesitating, with the proper word and decision and act ready and prompt as clockwork.
Other matches
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