| contraction | | |
| n. (act) | 1. contraction, muscle contraction, muscular contraction | (physiology) a shortening or tensing of a part or organ (especially of a muscle or muscle fiber). |
| ~ shortening | act of decreasing in length.; "the dress needs shortening" |
| ~ contracture | an abnormal and usually permanent contraction of a muscle. |
| ~ tetanus | a sustained muscular contraction resulting from a rapid series of nerve impulses. |
| ~ uterine contraction | a rhythmic tightening in labor of the upper uterine musculature that contracts the size of the uterus and pushes the fetus toward the birth canal. |
| ~ braxton-hicks contraction, false labor | painless contractions of the muscles of the uterus that continue throughout pregnancy with increasing frequency. |
| ~ vaginismus | muscular contraction that causes the vagina to close; usually an anxiety reaction before coitus or pelvic examination. |
| ~ physiology | the branch of the biological sciences dealing with the functioning of organisms. |
| n. (event) | 2. compression, condensation, contraction | the process or result of becoming smaller or pressed together.; "the contraction of a gas on cooling" |
| ~ shrinkage, shrinking | process or result of becoming less or smaller.; "the material lost 2 inches per yard in shrinkage" |
| ~ coarctation, constriction | tight or narrow compression. |
| n. (communication) | 3. contraction | a word formed from two or more words by omitting or combining some sounds.; "`won't' is a contraction of `will not'"; "`o'clock' is a contraction of `of the clock'" |
| ~ word | a unit of language that native speakers can identify.; "words are the blocks from which sentences are made"; "he hardly said ten words all morning" |
| n. (act) | 4. contraction | the act of decreasing (something) in size or volume or quantity or scope. |
| ~ reduction, step-down, diminution, decrease | the act of decreasing or reducing something. |
| taut | | |
| adj. | 1. taut, tight | pulled or drawn tight.; "taut sails"; "a tight drumhead"; "a tight rope" |
| ~ tense | taut or rigid; stretched tight.; "tense piano strings" |
| adj. | 2. taut | subjected to great tension; stretched tight.; "the skin of his face looked drawn and tight"; "her nerves were taut as the strings of a bow" |
| ~ tense | in or of a state of physical or nervous tension. |
| tense | | |
| n. (communication) | 1. tense | a grammatical category of verbs used to express distinctions of time. |
| ~ grammatical category, syntactic category | (grammar) a category of words having the same grammatical properties. |
| ~ present tense, present | a verb tense that expresses actions or states at the time of speaking. |
| ~ aorist | a verb tense in some languages (classical Greek and Sanskrit) expressing action (especially past action) without indicating its completion or continuation. |
| ~ past tense, past | a verb tense that expresses actions or states in the past. |
| ~ future tense, future | a verb tense that expresses actions or states in the future. |
| ~ continuous tense, imperfect, imperfect tense, progressive, progressive tense | a tense of verbs used in describing action that is on-going. |
| ~ perfect, perfect tense, perfective, perfective tense | a tense of verbs used in describing action that has been completed (sometimes regarded as perfective aspect). |
| v. (contact) | 2. strain, tense | become stretched or tense or taut.; "the bodybuilder's neck muscles tensed;"; "the rope strained when the weight was attached" |
| ~ tighten | become tight or tighter.; "The rope tightened" |
| v. (change) | 3. tense | increase the tension on.; "alternately relax and tense your calf muscle"; "tense the rope manually before tensing the spring" |
| ~ alter, change, modify | cause to change; make different; cause a transformation.; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue" |
| v. (body) | 4. tense, tense up | become tense, nervous, or uneasy.; "He tensed up when he saw his opponent enter the room" |
| ~ change state, turn | undergo a transformation or a change of position or action.; "We turned from Socialism to Capitalism"; "The people turned against the President when he stole the election" |
| v. (body) | 5. strain, tense, tense up | cause to be tense and uneasy or nervous or anxious.; "he got a phone call from his lawyer that tensed him up" |
| ~ affect | act physically on; have an effect upon.; "the medicine affects my heart rate" |
| ~ tense up, tense | become tense, nervous, or uneasy.; "He tensed up when he saw his opponent enter the room" |
| ~ stretch, extend | extend one's limbs or muscles, or the entire body.; "Stretch your legs!"; "Extend your right arm above your head" |
| adj. | 6. tense | in or of a state of physical or nervous tension. |
| ~ agitated | troubled emotionally and usually deeply.; "agitated parents" |
| ~ uneasy | lacking a sense of security or affording no ease or reassurance.; "farmers were uneasy until rain finally came"; "uneasy about his health"; "gave an uneasy laugh"; "uneasy lies the head that wears the crown"; "an uneasy coalition government"; "an uneasy calm"; "an uneasy silence fell on the group" |
| ~ wound up, aroused | brought to a state of great tension.; "all wound up for a fight" |
| ~ cliff-hanging, nail-biting, suspenseful, suspensive | (of a situation) characterized by or causing suspense. |
| ~ taut | subjected to great tension; stretched tight.; "the skin of his face looked drawn and tight"; "her nerves were taut as the strings of a bow" |
| ~ antsy, fidgety, fretful, itchy | nervous and unable to relax.; "a constant fretful stamping of hooves"; "a restless child" |
| ~ edgy, high-strung, highly strung, jumpy, nervy, overstrung, restive, uptight, jittery | being in a tense state. |
| ~ electric | (of a situation) exceptionally tense.; "an atmosphere electric with suspicion" |
| ~ isotonic | of two or more muscles; having equal tension. |
| ~ nervous | easily agitated.; "a nervous addict"; "a nervous thoroughbred" |
| ~ strained | showing signs of mental and emotional tension.; "her voice was strained as she asked the question" |
| ~ unrelaxed | nor relaxed.; "his life was drawing to a close in baffled zeal and unrelaxed strain" |
| ~ pumped, pumped-up, pumped up, wired | tense with excitement and enthusiasm as from a rush of adrenaline.; "we were really pumped up for the race"; "he was so pumped he couldn't sleep" |
| adj. | 7. tense | pronounced with relatively tense tongue muscles (e.g., the vowel sound in `beat'). |
| ~ phonetics | the branch of acoustics concerned with speech processes including its production and perception and acoustic analysis. |
| ~ constricted | especially tense; especially in some dialects. |
| adj. | 8. tense | taut or rigid; stretched tight.; "tense piano strings" |
| ~ tight | closely constrained or constricted or constricting.; "tight skirts"; "he hated tight starched collars"; "fingers closed in a tight fist"; "a tight feeling in his chest" |
| ~ overstrung | too tightly strung.; "an overstrung archery bow" |
| ~ taut, tight | pulled or drawn tight.; "taut sails"; "a tight drumhead"; "a tight rope" |
| tight | | |
| adj. | 1. tight | closely constrained or constricted or constricting.; "tight skirts"; "he hated tight starched collars"; "fingers closed in a tight fist"; "a tight feeling in his chest" |
| ~ tight | of such close construction as to be impermeable.; "a tight roof"; "warm in our tight little house" |
| ~ choky | so tight as to tend to choke.; "a choky collar" |
| ~ clenched, clinched | closed or squeezed together tightly.; "a clenched fist"; "his clenched (or clinched) teeth" |
| ~ close-fitting, snug, close | fitting closely but comfortably.; "a close fit" |
| ~ skin-tight, skintight | so tight as to cling to the skin.; "skintight jeans" |
| ~ tight-fitting, tight fitting, tightfitting, tightly fitting, skinny | fitting snugly.; "a tightly-fitting cover"; "tight-fitting clothes" |
| ~ viselike | clamped as in a vise.; "a viselike grip" |
| ~ tense | taut or rigid; stretched tight.; "tense piano strings" |
| adj. | 2. tight | set so close together as to be invulnerable to penetration.; "in tight formation"; "a tight blockade" |
| ~ invulnerable | immune to attack; impregnable.; "gunners raked the beach from invulnerable positions on the cliffs" |
| adj. | 3. compressed, tight | pressed tightly together.; "with lips compressed" |
| ~ shut, closed | used especially of mouth or eyes.; "he sat quietly with closed eyes"; "his eyes were shut against the sunlight" |
| adj. | 4. mean, mingy, miserly, tight | (used of persons or behavior) characterized by or indicative of lack of generosity.; "a mean person"; "he left a miserly tip" |
| ~ stingy, ungenerous | unwilling to spend.; "she practices economy without being stingy"; "an ungenerous response to the appeal for funds" |
| adj. | 5. tight | affected by scarcity and expensive to borrow.; "tight money"; "a tight market" |
| ~ economic science, economics, political economy | the branch of social science that deals with the production and distribution and consumption of goods and services and their management. |
| ~ scarce | deficient in quantity or number compared with the demand.; "fresh vegetables were scarce during the drought" |
| adj. | 6. tight | of such close construction as to be impermeable.; "a tight roof"; "warm in our tight little house" |
| ~ gas-tight, air-tight, airtight | not allowing air or gas to pass in or out. |
| ~ dripless | designed to prevent dripping.; "a dripless faucet"; "dripless candles" |
| ~ hermetic | completely sealed; completely airtight. |
| ~ leakproof | not subject to leaks. |
| ~ rainproof, waterproof, waterproofed | not permitting the passage of water. |
| ~ snug | well and tightly constructed.; "a snug house"; "a snug little sailboat" |
| ~ watertight | not allowing water to pass in or out. |
| ~ tight | closely constrained or constricted or constricting.; "tight skirts"; "he hated tight starched collars"; "fingers closed in a tight fist"; "a tight feeling in his chest" |
| ~ impermeable | preventing especially liquids to pass or diffuse through.; "impermeable stone"; "an impermeable layer of scum"; "a coat impermeable to rain" |
| ~ seaworthy | fit for a sea voyage. |
| adj. | 7. close, tight | of textiles.; "a close weave"; "smooth percale with a very tight weave" |
| ~ fine | of textures that are smooth to the touch or substances consisting of relatively small particles.; "wood with a fine grain"; "fine powdery snow"; "fine rain"; "batiste is a cotton fabric with a fine weave"; "covered with a fine film of dust" |
| adj. | 8. tight | securely or solidly fixed in place; rigid.; "the bolts are tight" |
| ~ secure | not likely to fail or give way.; "the lock was secure"; "a secure foundation"; "a secure hold on her wrist" |
| adj. | 9. close, tight | (of a contest or contestants) evenly matched.; "a close contest"; "a close election"; "a tight game" |
| ~ equal | having the same quantity, value, or measure as another.; "on equal terms"; "all men are equal before the law" |
| adj. | 10. besotted, blind drunk, blotto, cockeyed, crocked, fuddled, loaded, pie-eyed, pissed, pixilated, plastered, slopped, sloshed, smashed, soaked, soused, sozzled, squiffy, stiff, tight, wet | very drunk. |
| ~ argot, jargon, lingo, patois, vernacular, slang, cant | a characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves).; "they don't speak our lingo" |
| ~ drunk, inebriated, intoxicated | stupefied or excited by a chemical substance (especially alcohol).; "a noisy crowd of intoxicated sailors"; "helplessly inebriated" |
| adj. | 11. nasty, tight | exasperatingly difficult to handle or circumvent.; "a nasty problem"; "a good man to have on your side in a tight situation" |
| ~ difficult, hard | not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure.; "a difficult task"; "nesting places on the cliffs are difficult of access"; "difficult times"; "why is it so hard for you to keep a secret?" |
| adj. | 12. rigorous, stringent, tight | demanding strict attention to rules and procedures.; "rigorous discipline"; "tight security"; "stringent safety measures" |
| ~ demanding | requiring more than usually expected or thought due; especially great patience and effort and skill.; "found the job very demanding"; "a baby can be so demanding" |
| adj. | 13. tight | packed closely together.; "they stood in a tight little group"; "hair in tight curls"; "the pub was packed tight" |
| ~ compact | closely and firmly united or packed together.; "compact soil"; "compact clusters of flowers" |
| adv. | 14. fast, tight | firmly or closely.; "held fast to the rope"; "her foot was stuck fast"; "held tight" |
| adv. | 15. close, closely, tight | in an attentive manner.; "he remained close on his guard" |
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