tension

\tɑ̃.sjɔ̃\

/\tɑ̃.sjɔ̃\/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“tension” has 10 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #3,108. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,108
frequency rank, French
3,703
“T” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - État de ce qui est tendu.

Corpus desk

Index FR-tension · tension · French

tension · rank #3,108 · 10 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,108
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,703
  • PHOTO-FINISH symbole

Nearest frequency peer: symbole (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Pairs de rang près de l'aimant d'erreurs « tension »

Même bande de rareté: utile si une faute tombe sur un lemme voisin

corpus weight

What this shows « tension » siège parmi ces pairs FrequencyWords; la profondeur des fautes est suivie à part dans le graphique d'édition.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

tension vs tesson
71% similar
tension vs Tessin
57% similar
tension vs torsion
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for tension
PropertyValue
Headwordtension
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\tɑ̃.sjɔ̃\
Letters7
Frequency rank#3,108
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Fréquence de l'aimant d'erreurs « tension »

De gauche à droite: le peu qui porte la parole quotidienne, puis la longue queue quasi invisible.tensionse place ici:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

L'axe est logarithmique: chaque tic marque environ dix fois moins de fréquence. Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « symbole » (#3,107), « thèse » (#3,109), « street » (#3,106). Parmi 3,703 lemmes en « T », « tension » est au #3,108. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around tension (IPA \tɑ̃.sjɔ̃\), anoun. Corpus frequency is #3,108 among 3,703 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for tension, with forms such as "etnsion", "tenison", and "tennsion". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "tesson", "Tessin", "torsion", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is tension, spelled T-E-N-S-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    État de ce qui est tendu.
  2. 2
    Action de tendre.
  3. 3
    Dissentiment entre deux états mentaux d’une personne, d’un groupe, pouvant amener des menaces d’hostilité.
  4. 4
    Pression des gaz.
  5. 5
    Différence de potentiel, tension électrique.
  6. 6
    Augmentation de l’énergie potentielle d’une entité moléculaire due à une déviation d’angles de liaisons, à des conformations défavorables ou à d’autres interactions répulsives à travers l’espace.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how tension appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Tension des muscles. - Tension artérielle.
  2. Une corde rend un son plus aigu ou plus grave selon qu’elle a plus ou moins de tension.

Synonyms

voltage

This word in other languages

tension(English)tensión(Español)Spannung(Deutsch)tensão(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • etnsion
  • tenison
  • tennsion
  • tensino
  • tensionn
  • tensoin
  • tenssion
  • tesnion
  • tnesion
  • ttension

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of tension - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

etnsion2tenison2tennsion1tensino2tensionn1tensoin2tenssion1tesnion2
Edit distance from "tension"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "tension"?
"tension" is spelled T-E-N-S-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is \tɑ̃.sjɔ̃\.
What does "tension" mean?
As a noun, "tension" means: État de ce qui est tendu.
What words are commonly confused with "tension"?
"tension" is commonly confused with "tesson", "Tessin", "torsion". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "tension"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tension" is \tɑ̃.sjɔ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "tension" come from?
"tension" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "tension", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

symbole#3,107trouvez#3,111saisons#3,104reviens#3,102

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

restera10 variantsrapporte10 variantspiscine10 variantsbusiness10 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list