States of mental or emotional strain, or physical forces that pull or stretch something. Can refer to strained relationships between people or groups, or the degree of tightness in materials or structures.
From Latin 'tensio' meaning 'a stretching', from 'tendere' meaning 'to stretch'. The psychological sense developed in the 19th century, extending the physical metaphor to emotional states.
Tension is fascinating because it exists in both positive and negative forms - guitar strings need tension to make music, while human relationships suffer from it. Engineers and therapists both work with tension, just in very different contexts!
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