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taut

taut

28 4.8
Stretched tight and showing physical or emotional tension
  • adjective
  • /tɔt/
: tenso
  • Then stretch and hold the skin taut out and away from the eye.
  • taut rope
  • taut string
  • taut skin

His neck has new veins, A taut line of strength.

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Examples

  • And everything about her was so taut, she seemed in danger of breaking.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • And her skin was a translucent white, almost glazed and so taut that it, too, looked brittle.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • All right, now, when you get a fish on your line and you feel it, you gotta keep your line taut, okay?

  • But that was not it: the spring was taut, and there was no play.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • When I arrive, I shall hold the rope taut and you can just shimmy down.

  • It felt like striking a huge, taut basketball.

  • Workers shout back and forth, pulling on taut ropes that disappear into the ocean.

    Academic text (2011)
  • I could see the long line of muscle taut under the drape of the heavy fabric.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Every muscle became rigid and taut until it seemed that the flesh would tear apart the overstretched skin.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • The rope was pulled so tight that it remained taut throughout the entire climb.

Synonyms

tight
vstaut
746 1.0

Firmly fixed so it is not loose

focuses on strain and tension rather than mere firmness or fit
tense
vstaut
247 3.6

Feeling nervous and unable to relax

is used for physical or emotional tightness rather than only feeling nervous
strained
vstaut
36 4.2

Appearing not natural and tense, often like a forced smile

is about being pulled tight without implying an unnatural or forced feeling
hypertense
vstaut
1 8.3

Very tight because it is under strong strain, for example in muscles

is general stretched tightness not always extremely intense
overstrung
vstaut
8.2

Having strings that are too tight and under strain

applies to general stretched tightness not limited to stringed objects

Antonyms

302 1.0

Not tight so it can move or fall off

216 1.0

Calm and not worried

How Tense

strained
36 4.2
tense
247 3.6
taut
28 4.8
uneasy
92 3.2
relaxed
216 1.0
calm
680 1.0

Surface Forms

taut positive

Etymology

Taut comes from an old word that meant 'tight' and is like the familiar words tight and tense, which both suggest something pulled or full of strain. So when something is taut it is pulled 'tight' or shows 'tension'.