How to Use tense in a Sentence

tense

1 of 3 adjective
  • Why are you so tense?
  • It was a tense meeting.
  • We sat quietly for a few tense moments.
  • She was feeling pretty tense.
  • My calf muscles are really tense.
  • Friday’s game might have been the most tense of them all.
    Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2024
  • Our smiles are tense, our necks stretched, our backs erect.
    Alice Robb, Vogue, 28 Feb. 2023
  • The game was tense throughout, living up to the big stage it had been placed on.
    Caroline Petrow-Cohen, Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2024
  • And the blisters themselves are tense and not soft like these.
    Lisa Sanders, M.d., New York Times, 7 Oct. 2023
  • The result is a tense and gripping series that’s hard to shake.
    William Goodman, Men's Health, 31 Jan. 2023
  • The series should capture the wild ambition and tense charms of the TV business.
    Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 15 Sep. 2023
  • Things weren’t always this tense between Kendrick Lamar and Drake.
    Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 25 Mar. 2024
  • As the auction plays out, the atmosphere in the van is unbearably tense.
    Max Olesker, Longreads, 13 July 2023
  • The trial has been a lengthy, tense standoff between Trump and James, who were often in the room as their lawyers clashed.
    Graham Kates, CBS News, 12 Dec. 2023
  • Those two points would’ve been nice during the final, tense minutes.
    Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2023
  • The order comes at a tense moment in U.S.-China relations.
    Harold Maass, The Week, 10 Aug. 2023
  • Like the final sequence, the game itself was tense, physical and up for grabs.
    Ivan Carter, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Jan. 2024
  • In the documentary, Gypsy detailed the tense night the murder took place.
    Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 28 Dec. 2023
  • The narrative on one side: UConn, which cruised to the 2023 crown for the most part — minus a few tense minutes late against the Aztecs — could be better this lap.
    Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Mar. 2024
  • And then on the other side, there are women who have too much tone and their pelvic floor muscles are tense and feel tight at all times.
    Jayme Cyk, Vogue, 2 Nov. 2023
  • One of the most tense scenes in the film is when the group of scientists working on the atomic bomb witness its first explosion in a test.
    Krystie Lee Yandoli, Rolling Stone, 10 Mar. 2024
  • Hezbollah and Israel fought a monthlong war in 2006 that ended in a tense stalemate.
    Compiled By Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 5 Nov. 2023
  • The coming hours will be tense as Granite State voters make their voices heard.
    John Bacon, USA TODAY, 22 Feb. 2024
  • That could lead to an awkward -- and tense -- scenario if the United States and China find themselves as next-door neighbors at the south pole of the moon.
    Arkansas Online, 19 Jan. 2023
  • After a tense few minutes, the Red Cross officials managed to transfer the women to their jeep.
    Ronen Bergman, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2024
  • The premise is simple but creates a great, often tense sci-fi comedy.
    Erik Kain, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2024
  • There was a long, tense moment as the referee waited for confirmation of the goal.
    Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 6 Aug. 2023
  • Some members of the far-right group were known for their involvement in street brawls and tense face-offs with left-leaning protesters.
    Ty Roush, Forbes, 4 May 2023
  • Shortly after, several users on the app pointed out that Tucker was on the Chiefs side of the field during the tense pre-game moment.
    Natasha Dye, Peoplemag, 28 Jan. 2024
  • Use them to target undereye circles, puffiness, and wrinkles, and to relax your 11s (the tense muscle lines between your eyebrows).
    Jenn Barthole, Glamour, 9 Apr. 2024
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tense

2 of 3 verb
  • He tensed up and missed the putt.
  • She tensed as he walked toward her.
  • But Boykin seemed to tense up as the pass arrived, and the ball caromed off his hands.
    Jonas Shaffer, baltimoresun.com, 2 Aug. 2021
  • For just a beat, the air in the room seemed to tense up around us, as six hundred birds held their breath.
    Burkhard Bilger, The New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2023
  • With DeRozan unavailable, the Spurs seemed to tense up down the stretch Sunday.
    Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 2 May 2021
  • Utley tensed his leg and let the ball connect with his right foot.
    Andy McCullough, latimes.com, 9 Apr. 2018
  • As a result, muscles tense up, which will make a shot more painful.
    NBC News, 28 Oct. 2021
  • Zitterbart gripped the unwieldy tagging pole and stood tensed, one foot on the bow box and one in the boat.
    Kate Wong, Scientific American, 13 Mar. 2023
  • The sound of the gunshot, every muscle in my body tensed, the smell of gunpowder.
    Gabrielle Union, Glamour, 18 Oct. 2017
  • Morris swore, and swore again, his body tensing up in his suit.
    Eric Boodman, STAT, 27 Mar. 2020
  • The video shows Howard tensing up his body and yelling as officers try to wrestle him to the floor.
    Christal Hayes, OrlandoSentinel.com, 16 June 2017
  • But under stress her body would tense, and her mind would falter.
    Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 11 Sep. 2022
  • This can help stretch the muscles in the back of your neck that may be tensing up during prodrome.
    Julia Ries, SELF, 14 July 2023
  • But in front of the crowd of thousands at Coney Island on the big day, Sudo said, her muscles tense up.
    Josh Peter, USA TODAY, 3 July 2023
  • Firstly, cold weather can cause muscles to tense up—that includes in the pelvic floor.
    Philip Ellis, Men's Health, 19 Feb. 2022
  • Imagine the scene: Arms tensed, bow flexed, a hunter on the African savanna draws in a slow breath as his prey moves into view.
    Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 11 May 2018
  • Mike Brosseau was called a ball with one out in the third, Jameson seemed to tense up on the mound, prompting Lovullo to start barking at Morales from the dugout.
    Nick Piecoro, The Arizona Republic, 12 Apr. 2023
  • Starting with your toes, breath in and tense the muscles in that area, holding the tension for up to 10 seconds.
    Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 23 Feb. 2021
  • My body hardened, my muscles tensed and tightened, even as my mind shut down.
    Jessica Berger Gross, Longreads, 11 July 2017
  • Pezzarossi should be able to control the LUKE by flexing or tensing his arm.
    Robert Rhoden, NOLA.com, 23 Aug. 2017
  • The morning of the carolers, my body tensed as a team of doctors, nurses and students stopped by on their rounds.
    Leslie Gauthier, New York Times, 22 Dec. 2017
  • And when your mind is on edge, your muscles often follow suit and tense up in response.
    Jenny McCoy, SELF, 17 Jan. 2023
  • As the engine's torque builds, the entire car seems to tense up before surging forward in a boiling burst of speed.
    John Pearley Huffman, Car and Driver, 27 May 2020
  • Lie down or sit in a quiet place, close your eyes, and tense the muscles in your toes and feet for five seconds, then release.
    Lisa Bain, Good Housekeeping, 26 May 2023
  • The men immediately tense up, but Ty doesn’t notice, and no one says a word.
    Paula Aceves, Curbed, 9 Nov. 2021
  • Alvey tossed the ball aside and turned his back to Blanford again, tensing his muscles in anticipation of the next shot.
    Danielle Lerner, The Courier-Journal, 6 Sep. 2017
  • Inhale and squeeze your hands into fists, tensing all the muscles of your arms. Exhale to release.
    Dana Santas, CNN, 19 Sep. 2017
  • Hold for 10 seconds, then tense the muscles being stretched.
    Woman's Day Staff, Woman's Day, 2 July 2011
  • Usually, I'm tensed up and my face is all squished together.
    Bob Narang, chicagotribune.com, 21 May 2017
  • Both officers moved to handcuff the teenager, who tensed his arms and tried to resist the restraints as police moved him in front of a patrol wagon, according to the report.
    Jeremy C. Fox, BostonGlobe.com, 1 Aug. 2023
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tense

3 of 3 noun
  • The sentence will read better if you change the tense of the verb.
  • You should avoid changing tense in the middle of a paragraph.
  • Even writing about him in the past tense doesn’t make sense.
    Christy Piña, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Mar. 2024
  • Even now, the Lost Girl of Ravenglass is never referred to in the past tense.
    Elizabeth Hand, Washington Post, 19 Aug. 2023
  • These last two games were pretty high tense, two walkoffs.
    BostonGlobe.com, 13 Oct. 2021
  • Slumping over at your desk for hours on end can make your back hurt, your body tense, and your neck strain.
    Popsci Commerce Team, Popular Science, 26 Feb. 2021
  • Stories can be told in the present tense, and then reviewed using past tense forms.
    Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2023
  • Holin, 44, spoke about Kfar Aza, where she was born and raised and where her son and daughter were growing up, in the past tense.
    Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2023
  • House Democrats can be forgiven somewhat for being on the wrong side of the verb tense.
    Jason Linkins, The New Republic, 7 Aug. 2021
  • While her son speaks of his sister in the present tense, Crawford often uses the past tense.
    Keith L. Alexander, Washington Post, 11 Nov. 2023
  • The text next to an image of Halley’s Comet refers to its 1986 appearance in the future tense.
    Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2023
  • On Captain Wild Bill’s boat, things are getting tense as well.
    Tyler McCarthy, Fox News, 10 July 2018
  • At one point, McConnell and Schumer, whose desks are near each other at the front of the chamber, engaged in a tense back and forth.
    The Washington Post, OregonLive.com, 19 June 2017
  • Dry, earthy, with a tense, drying touch on the palate and a long lingering red fruit finish.
    Joseph V Micallef, Forbes, 28 Dec. 2021
  • Working with Pete Burns and Dead or Alive was a little tense at times.
    Fred Bronson, Billboard, 3 Mar. 2021
  • This play seems to be taking place in the present tense, but also in retrospect, through Sofi’s point of view.
    Liz Appel, Vogue, 8 Sep. 2023
  • Then a muscle running forward from the tip of one rib to the skin tenses to pull the skeleton and body forward over the skin.
    James Gorman, New York Times, 6 Feb. 2018
  • Now a farmer, Mr. Mohammed, his voice tense, asked for help in making an escape.
    Ann Scott Tyson, The Christian Science Monitor, 23 Aug. 2021
  • The present tense: to take a loveless path is to court a purple-blue emptiness, like a disco or a grotto.
    Diane Seuss Anne Boyer, New York Times, 16 Mar. 2023
  • Artists grapple with inequities in present and future tense.
    Jenna Ross, Star Tribune, 18 Sep. 2020
  • After some tense back and forth, the May Davis team excuses itself.
    Randall Lane, Forbes, 10 Sep. 2021
  • The mood turned from celebratory to tense when Crews finally dimmed the lights and got to the results.
    Charles Trepany, USA TODAY, 15 Sep. 2022
  • Biko tenses and pulls handler John Peeler to the laptop bag before the man turns the corner.
    Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, 21 Sep. 2017
  • Clinton is eternally in the plural tense, just like Kennedy or Bush.
    Alexander Nazaryan, Newsweek, 29 Nov. 2017
  • Visitors can look up how to translate a word, see the plural form of the word, change the tense of a verb or add an adjective to a noun.
    Alena Naiden, Anchorage Daily News, 21 Aug. 2022
  • After all, when the present-tense leaves little to look forward to, nothing is more addictive than the past.
    Scott Mendelson, Forbes, 3 June 2021
  • And recent teacher reviews mostly refer to both sites in the past tense.
    Kathy Kristof, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Mar. 2023
  • Answers always match their clues in tense, part of speech and foreign languages.
    New York Times, 1 May 2022
  • Our whole present tense takes place in the shadows of the original, pure impressions of childhood.
    Joe Fassler, The Atlantic, 2 May 2017
  • And the continuing threat to democracy is a present-tense story, as well.
    Brian Stelter, CNN, 17 Sep. 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tense.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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