tautened

verb

past tense of tauten
as in tightened
to draw tight he tautened the rope and then tied it off

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tautened
  1. tightened
  2. tensed
Verb
  • China accelerated its domestic chipmaking efforts after Washington tightened restrictions on Huawei Technologies in 2020, cutting the company off from TSMC.
    — Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 30 Aug. 2026
  • The naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz remains in place, secondary sanctions are being tightened, and pressure is being increased on countries and financial networks that have allowed Tehran to circumvent previous restrictions.
    — Hamidreza Azizi, Time, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of tightened
Verb
  • The women tensed when the deputy warden of the Rostov jail, a curt, imperious man with a heavy-footed gait, walked in.
    — Joshua Yaffa, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026
  • As that handover proceeds, the excitatory signal that keeps your muscles faintly tensed all day begins to withdraw, and muscle tone drops toward the near-paralysis of deep sleep.
    — Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
Definition of tensed
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

tauten
tautened
tautening
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Tautened.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tautened. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of dissonant

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All