Tensing [noun]

He sat on the edge of the cot, tensing as though for a leap at Conn's throat.

Albert turned to face the nearest native, tensing his muscles for battle.

There was a tensing of the abdomen, a faint burning in the pit of his stomach.

Lucinda divined hostility in the tensing of the arm round her waist.

The tensing of her body betrayed the temper in which Lucinda met his suggestion.

He felt the tensing of the others in the room, not toward the major but toward him.

There came a tensing of the relaxed form, and the head lifted a little so that the girl could look at her questioner.

Barring a little stiffness, which he removed by flexing and tensing his muscles, he felt very strong and capable.

But he could not shake off the legs which were like stubborn tentacles about him, could not free his throat of the tensing clutch.

Sometimes a false emotionalism adds to the discomfort by tensing the whole muscular system and making the messages more intense.