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Common collocations with tense in American Collocation

tense adjective

US /tens/

very

extremely
genuinely
incredibly
particularly
really
unbearably
unbelievably
very

The way these scenes are filmed makes them unbearably tense.

rather

a bit
fairly
a little
pretty
quite
rather
slightly
somewhat

When you’re stuck in traffic and feeling a little tense, music can be very soothing.

ending

climax
ending
finale
finish

They narrowly defeated their rivals in a tense finale.

period of time

moment
wait

During the incredibly tense moments that followed, I read a mixture of emotions in his eyes.

situation in which there is angry disappointment

encounter
showdown
standoff

The crowding led to a tense standoff between UN officials and local police.

atmosphere

atmosphere
mood

The atmosphere is tense with the impending elections.

silence

silence

The curtain closed behind them, leaving a tense silence.

game, film etc

affair
competition
drama
game
scene
thriller

In the tense thriller ‘Inside Man’, a bank robbery leads to a number of people being taken hostage.

be or become tense

become
feel
get
grow

Try not to become tense, as your baby will sense this.

seem tense

look
seem

She seems very tense, even nervous.

remain tense

remain

The situation in the country remains extremely tense.