Tĕn’sion, n.

(tĕn’shun), n. [Lat. tensio, from tendere, tensum, to stretch; Fr. & Sp. tension, It. tensione.]

1. The act of stretching or straining; as, the tension of the muscles.
2. The state of being stretched or strained to stiffness; the state of being bent or strained; hence, high intellectual effort; strong excitement of feeling; energy of will; severity; rigor.
3. The degree of stretching to which a wire, cord, piece of timber, and the like, is strained by drawing it in the direction of its length; strain. Gwill.
4. Distention. [Rare.]
5. (Mech.) The force by which a bow or string is pulled when forming part of any system in equilibrium or in motion; as, the tension of a string supporting a weight equals that weight.
6. (Physics.) Expansive force; the force with which the particles of a body, as a gas, tend to recede from each other and occupy a larger space; elastic force; as, the tension of vapor; the tension of air.