noun

1. a tensing or being tensed
2. mental or nervous strain, often accompanied by muscular tautness
3. a state of strained relations; uneasiness due to mutual hostility
4. a device for regulating tension or tautness, as of thread in a sewing machine
5. voltage
6. loosely the expansive force, or pressure, of a gas or vapor
7. 1. stress on a material produced by the pull of forces tending to cause extension
   2. a force or combination of forces exerting such a pull against the resistance of the material
8. a balancing of forces or elements in opposition

Etymology: < MFr or L: MFr < L tensio < tensus: see tense

transitive verb