the action of stretching something tight; "tension holds the belt in the pulleys"
(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"
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"
(psychology) a state of mental or emotional strain or suspense; "he suffered from fatigue and emotional tension"; "stress is a vasoconstrictor"
the physical condition of being stretched or strained; "it places great tension on the leg muscles"; "he could feel the tenseness of her body"
inhabit or live in; "People lived in Africa millions of years ago"; "The people inhabited the islands that are now deserted"; "this kind of fish dwells near the bottom of the ocean"
originate (in); "The problems dwell in the social injustices in this country"
(computer science) electronic equipment connected by cable to the CPU of a computer; "disk drives and printers are important peripherals"
on or near an edge or constituting an outer boundary; the outer area; "Russia's peripheral provinces"; "peripheral suburbs"
related to the key issue but not of central importance; "a peripheral interest"; "energy is far from a peripheral issue in the economy"; "peripheral issues"
the quality of being difficult; "they agreed about the difficulty of the climb"
a factor causing trouble in achieving a positive result or tending to produce a negative result; "serious difficulties were encountered in obtaining a pure reagent"
a condition or state of affairs almost beyond one's ability to deal with and requiring great effort to bear or overcome; "grappling with financial difficulties"