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• v  become stretched or tense or taut
  the bodybuilder's neck muscles tensed
• v  increase the tension on
• v  become tense, nervous, or uneasy
  He tensed up when he saw his opponent enter the room
• v  cause to be tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious
  he got a phone call from his lawyer that tensed him up
• s  having inflections to indicate tense

• It was last Monday afternoon, before the capital fell, and the crews were tensed for a barrage of enemy fire.
• Pilot Satoru Kumon tensed as A-4 Skyhawk fighter-bombers rose from the flattop to meet him.
• Nancy Pelosi, sitting behind Obama, tensed and scowled as if she had just witnessed a crime, her disgust unhidden.

• strain
• tense
• tense up

• relax
• unstrain

News & Articles

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• Mahan in prime position for his first major title
  Hunter Mahan's face was reddened by the sun, his voice rubbed rough by a week of talking about Merion, his body tensed by the nearness of a first major championship.
  June 16, 2013 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Quotes

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• Brad Haddin in Sydney Morning Herald
  Maybe the occasion got to a few of us,said Brad Haddin after day one of last year's match. "I know I tensed up."
• Michael Ballack in International Herald Tribune
  We had everything to lose in this match where we were favorites to win and you could tell the team was not as agile as usual because they had tensed up,Ballack said. "Yet we wanted to win and that was decisive."
• Bill Callahan in SI.com
  I've never been one to get all tensed up and tightened up about anything like jobs,Callahan said. "You go out and do the best you can. I'm not worried about next week or next month or next year."