tension
n 1: feelings of hostility that are not manifest; "he could sense
her latent hostility to him"; "the diplomats' first
concern was to reduce international tensions" [syn: {latent
hostility}]
2: a state mental or emotional strain or suspense; "he suffered
from fatigue and emotional tension" [syn: {tenseness}, {stress}]
3: the physical condition of being stretched or strained; "it
places great tension on the leg muscles"; "he could feel
the tenseness of her body"; "the violinist adjusted the
tension of the strings" [syn: {tensity}, {tenseness}, {tautness}]
4: a balance between and interplay of opposing elements or
tendencies (especially in art or literature); "there is a
tension created between narrative time and movie time";
"there is a tension between these approaches to
understanding history"
5: (physics) a stress that produces an elongation of an elastic
physical body; "the direction of maximum tension moves
asymptotically toward the direction of the shear"