tensely

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

English tense

Proto-Indo-European *leyg-der.

Proto-Germanic *līkąder.

Proto-Germanic *-līkaz

Proto-Germanic *-ê

Proto-Germanic *-līkê

Proto-West Germanic *-līkē

Old English -līċe

Middle English -ly

English -ly

English tensely

From tense + -ly.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɛnsli/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Adverb

tensely (comparative more tensely, superlative most tensely)

1. In a tense manner.
   • 1982, Douglas Adams, Life, the Universe and Everything, page 61:

     He leant tensely against the corridor wall and frowned like a man trying to unbend a corkscrew by telekinesis.

Translations

in a tense manner

• Hungarian: feszülten (hu)

Anagrams

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