| Main Entry: | tense |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | tight, stretched |
Synonyms: |
close, firm, rigid, stiff, strained, taut |
Antonyms: |
limp, limpid, loose, relaxed, slack |
| Main Entry: | tense |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | under stress, pressure |
Synonyms: |
agitated, anxious, apprehensive, beside oneself, bundle of nerves, choked, clutched, concerned, edgy, excited, fidgety, fluttery, high-strung, hung up, hyper, in a tizzy, jittery, jumpy, keyed up, moved, moving, nerve-racking, nervous, nervous wreck, on edge, overanxious, overwrought, queasy, restive, restless, shaky, shot to pieces, shot*, strained, stressful, strung out, uneasy, unnerved, unquiet, up the wall, uptight*, white knuckled, wired, worried, worrying, wound up, wreck* |
Antonyms: |
calm, easy-going, laid-back, relaxed, uncaring |
| Main Entry: | constrict |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | inhibit |
Synonyms: |
astringe, choke, circumscribe, clench, compress, concentrate, condense, confine, constringe, contract, cramp, curb, draw together, limit, narrow, pinch, restrain, restrict, shrink, squeeze, strangle, strangulate, tauten, tense, tighten, tuck |
Antonyms: |
expand, free, let go, loosen, open, release |
| Main Entry: | dramatic |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | exciting, moving |
Synonyms: |
affecting, breathtaking, climactic, comic, effective, electrifying, emotional, expressive, farcical, histrionic, impressive, melodramatic, powerful, sensational, startling, striking, sudden, suspenseful, tense, theatrical, thespian, thrilling, tragic, tragicomic, vivid |
Antonyms: |
comedic, normal, ordinary, undramatic, unexciting, unmoving, usual |
| Main Entry: | edgy |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | nervous |
Synonyms: |
anxious, critical, excitable, excited, high-strung, ill at ease, impatient, irascible, irritable, keyed up, overstrung, restive, restless, skittish, tense, touchy, uneasy, uptight |
Antonyms: |
calm, composed, easy-going, laid-back |
| Main Entry: | electric/electrical |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | charged; energetic |
Synonyms: |
AC, DC, dynamic, electrifying, exciting, juiced, magnetic, motor-driven, power-driven, rousing, stimulating, stirring, tense, thrilling, voltaic |
Antonyms: |
boring, uncharged, unenergetic, unexciting |
| Main Entry: | explosive |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | volatile, dangerous |
Synonyms: |
at the boiling point, bursting, charged, consequential, convulsive, detonating, detonative, ebullient, eruptive, fiery, forceful, frenzied, fulminant, fulminating, hazardous, impetuous, meteoric, overwrought, perilous, raging, rampant, stormy, tense, touchy, ugly, uncontrollable, unstable, vehement, violent, wild |
Antonyms: |
calm, peaceful, safe |
| Main Entry: | fearful |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | alarmed, apprehensive |
Synonyms: |
aflutter, afraid, aghast, agitated, anxious, chicken, chickenhearted, diffident, discomposed, disquieted, disturbed, fainthearted, frightened, goose-bumpy, have cold feet, hesitant, in a dither, intimidated, jittery, jumpy, lily-livered, mousy, nerveless, nervous, nervy, panicky, perturbed, phobic, pusillanimous, quivery, rabbity, running scared, scared, shaky, sheepish*, shrinking, shy, skittish, solicitous, spineless, tense, timid, timorous, tremulous, uneasy, unmanly, weak-kneed, worried, yellow* |
| Notes: | someone may be fearful; someone or something may be fearsome |
Antonyms: |
bold, brave, courageous, inapprehensive, unafraid, unfearful |
| Main Entry: | high-strung |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | nervous |
Synonyms: |
edgy, excitable, impatient, restless, tense |
| Main Entry: | hunch |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | cower, crouch |
Synonyms: |
arch, bend, bow, curve, draw in, draw together, huddle, hump, lean, scrooch down, squat, stoop, tense |
Antonyms: |
stand, straighten |