taut
adj.adj. stretched very tightly or pulled so that it is almost broken. You use this to describe things like ropes, skin, or even a person's face when they are very serious.
adj. stretched or pulled to the point of being almost broken; tight and firm. Often describes physical objects like ropes or skin, or metaphorically describes a person's expression or a situation's tension.
The sailor tightened the taut rope to keep the boat steady.
The captain noticed the taut expression on the crew's faces as they prepared for the storm.
The tension in the room was palpable, with every muscle in the audience's bodies taut as they waited for the final act to begin.
The adjective is derived from Middle English taught [and other forms], Early Middle English tohte, towehte (“strained, stretched; distended; tight; firm”), probably from tough, touth, touʒth, toʒt (“powerful, strong; fierce, violent; not tender, tough; hardy, resilient; steadfast, stout; difficult to do or endure”) and possibly influenced by togen, towen, past participle of ten (“to extend, stretch out; to drag, haul, pull, tow, tug”) (modern English tee (“(obsolete) to draw, lead; to draw away; to go, proceed”)), or directly from its etymon Old English tēon (“to drag, draw, pull”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dewk- (“to draw, pull”)) The word may be related to thight (“(dialectal) compact, dense; close-fitting, tight”) and tight; and is cognate with Scots tacht, taght (“taut”). The verb is probably derived from the adjective.