tense up

Verb

Meaning

cause to be tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious

become tense, nervous, or uneasy

Source: WordNet

Synonyms

strain tense flex spring nervous pull burden stretch strained worry tighten stiffen crunch stiffening afflict
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Antonyms

slack free open release rest ease
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Hypernyms

turn affect change state

Hyponyms

extend stretch

Examples

The girls always think we're going to throw them over a table or toss them in the air. Their muscles tense up right away. So Fred and I go and sit in a corner and pretend we're talking business. Fred Astaire

The mist was so challenging and the winds hit me, definitely more than I expected. It was definitely those winds, you can't re-enact them, you can't recreate them. Then my forearms started to tense up and you feel like running. Nik Wallenda

he got a phone call from his lawyer that tensed him up Source: Internet

He tensed up when he saw his opponent enter the room Source: Internet

Close letter words and terms

tense tense system tense turn tense vowel tensed tensegral