tensile \TEN-suhl, adjective:

1. capable of being stretched or drawn out; ductile.
2. of or pertaining to tension: tensile strain.

Claire’s tensile features pull themselves tight with glee.
— Zadie Smith, On Beauty
One way of increasing the tensile strength in a wooden bow at any time of the year was to apply a sinew backing.
— Louis Bird, Jennifer S. H. Brown, Anne Lindsay, Telling Our Stories

This late Renaissance word tensile was derived in 1626 from the Latin verb tendere meaning “to stretch.”


  1. mutedtempest reblogged this from writeworld
  2. iwanttobeafirefly reblogged this from writeworld
  3. monsterbunnyhelps reblogged this from writeworld
  4. cleaningoutmylikes reblogged this from writeworld
  5. misterwaltdisney reblogged this from writeworld
  6. cherrysan96 reblogged this from writeworld and added:
    //
  7. redvelvetsnowstorm reblogged this from writeworld
  8. purpleapple317 reblogged this from writeworld
  9. opalescentegg reblogged this from writeworld
  10. kchasmwords reblogged this from writeworld
  11. fireignition reblogged this from writeworld and added:
    Tensile: tenso. Simples assim! hahahahaha
  12. alexenglishhhhh reblogged this from writeworld
  13. lotte-rph reblogged this from writeworld
  14. tai-phannybiscuit reblogged this from writeworld
  15. ocular-splendor reblogged this from writeworld
  16. tehsharkie reblogged this from writeworld
  17. trafficking-tardises reblogged this from writeworld
  18. goodbye-blue-skies reblogged this from writeworld
  19. fixatedonyourverdigris reblogged this from writeworld