Meaning & use
pent-up tension
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Meaning
phraseuncountable
Strong feelings such as anger, worry, or excitement that someone has held back for a long time and not expressed.
Grammar: Used as a noun phrase; it cannot be counted, so you say 'some pent-up tension' or 'a lot of pent-up tension', not 'a pent-up tension'.
Patterns
- release pent-up tension
- pent-up tension builds up
- a lot of pent-up tension
After weeks of silence, there was a lot of pent-up tension in the room.
The team tried to release their pent-up tension by talking openly.
Exercise can help you get rid of pent-up tension.
Common combinations
- release pent-up tension
- A good laugh can release pent-up tension.
- pent-up tension builds up
- Pent-up tension builds up when people never talk about their problems.
- a lot of pent-up tension
- There was a lot of pent-up tension before the exam results came out.
- pent-up anger
- He finally let out his pent-up anger.
Synonyms and how they differ
- suppressed emotion
- This is a more formal, general term; 'pent-up tension' is more specific to a tense, nervous feeling.
- stress
- 'Stress' is the general feeling of pressure; 'pent-up tension' suggests it has been held inside and not released.
Opposites
Commonly confused: pent-up tension or pent up?
pent-up tension vs pent up
'Pent up' is an adjective meaning 'held back'; 'pent-up tension' is the full noun phrase.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'pent-up tension' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Pent-up tension' is uncountable, so it is used with 'a lot of' or 'some', not 'a'. It is a noun phrase, not a verb or adjective, so the other options are not grammatical.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pent-up tension”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.