tense рдХреНрдпрд╛ рд╣реИрдВ? tense рдХреНрдпрд╛ рд╣реИрдВ? Tightly stretched; taut. See Synonyms at stiff, tight.In a state of mental or nervous tension.Characterized by nervous tension or suspense. Linguistics Enunciated with taut muscles, as the sound (─У) in keen.To make or become tense.Any one of the inflected forms in the conjugation of a verb that indicates the time, such as past, present, or future, as well as the continuance or completion of the action or state.A set of tense forms indicating a particular time: the future tense.