tense

adj 1: in or of a state of physical or nervous tension [ant: {relaxed}]

2: (phonetics) pronounced with relatively tense tongue muscles

(e.g., the vowel sound in `beat') [ant: {lax}]

3: taut or rigid; stretched tight; "tense piano strings" [ant:

{lax}]

n : a grammatical category of verbs used to express distinctions

of time

v 1: stretch or force to the limit; "strain the rope" [syn: {strain}]

2: increase the tension on; "tense a rope"

3: become tense or tenser; "He tensed up when he saw his

opponent enter the room" [syn: {tense up}] [ant: {relax}]

4: make tense [syn: {strain}, {tense up}] [ant: {relax}, {relax}]

tense

Of programs, very clever and efficient. A tense piece of code

often got that way because it was highly {bum}med, but

sometimes it was just based on a great idea. A comment in a

clever routine by Mike Kazar, once a grad-student hacker at

CMU: "This routine is so tense it will bring tears to your

eyes." A tense programmer is one who produces tense code.

[{Jargon File}]