tenseTENSE, a. tens. [L. tensus, from tendo, to stretch.] Stretched; strained to stiffness; rigid; not lax; as a tense fiber. TENSE, n. tens. [L. tempus.] In grammar, time, or a particular form of a verb, or a combination of words, used to express the time of action, or of that which is affirmed; or tense is an inflection of verbs by which they are made to signify or distinguish the time of actions or events. |