{
    "term": "tension",
    "partOfSpeech": "noun",
    "academic": true,
    "ox5000": true,
    "cefr": "b2",
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "a situation in which people do not trust each other, or feel unfriendly towards each other, and that may cause them to attack each other",
            "sensetop": "tension between A and B",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "There is mounting tension along the border."
                },
                {
                    "text": "**international/racial/political tensions**"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Family tensions and conflicts may lead to violence."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The incident has further increased tension between the two countries.",
                    "contextForm": "tension between A and B"
                },
                {
                    "text": "In the early 1960s, new tensions arose between the United States and the USSR."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Money was always a source of tension between her parents."
                },
                {
                    "text": "More police have been sent to areas of high political tension."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Tensions in their family were running high."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She often used humour to defuse tension in meetings."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The job losses caused greater tensions within the company."
                },
                {
                    "text": "tension between local youths and the police"
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Social issues"],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["considerable", "great", "high"],
                "verb + tension": ["cause", "create", "generate"],
                "tension + verb": ["build up", "grow", "increase"],
                "preposition": ["tension among", "tension between", "tension in"],
                "phrases": ["a source of tension"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "a situation in which the fact that there are different needs or interests causes difficulties",
            "sensetop": "tension (between A and B)",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "There is often a tension between the aims of the company and the wishes of the employees."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["considerable", "great", "high"],
                "verb + tension": ["cause", "create", "generate"],
                "tension + verb": ["build up", "grow", "increase"],
                "preposition": ["tension among", "tension between", "tension in"],
                "phrases": ["a source of tension"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "a feeling of worry and stress that makes it impossible to relax",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "**nervous tension**"
                },
                {
                    "text": "We laughed and that helped **ease the tension**."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Walking and swimming are excellent for releasing tension."
                },
                {
                    "text": "a tension headache"
                },
                {
                    "text": "He suffers from nervous tension."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Horses are very sensitive to signs of tension in humans."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["inner", "emotional", "nervous"],
                "verb + tension": ["feel", "suffer from", "sense"],
                "tension + noun": ["headache"],
                "preposition": ["tension in"],
                "phrases": ["a release of tension", "a sign of tension"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 4,
            "definition": "the feeling of fear and excitement that is created by a writer or a film director",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "dramatic tension"
                },
                {
                    "text": "As the movie progresses the tension builds."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Tension builds around the mystery of what will happen to Freddie."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The tension among the audience was palpable."
                },
                {
                    "text": "the use of editing to heighten the tension"
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Film and theatre", "Literature and writing"],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["dramatic"],
                "verb + tension": ["build", "heighten", "increase"],
                "tension + verb": ["build", "grow", "mount"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 5,
            "definition": "the state of being stretched tight; the extent to which something is stretched tight",
            "cefr": "c1",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "muscular tension"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Adjust the string tension of your tennis racket to suit your style of playing."
                },
                {
                    "text": "When knitting, try to keep the same tension throughout."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Massage can relieve tension in your shoulders and back."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The sudden tension on the line told me I had hooked a fish."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The metal is weak in tension."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Stay clear of cables which are under tension."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The hot bath eased the tension in his body."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["string"],
                "verb + tension": ["adjust", "release"],
                "preposition": ["in tension", "under tension", "tension on"]
            }
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈtenʃn/",
                "audio": "te/tension/tension__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈtenʃn/",
                "audio": "te/tension/tension__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "mid 16th cent. (as a medical term denoting a condition or feeling of being physically stretched or strained): from French, or from Latin tensio(n-), from tendere ‘stretch’."
}