How to show the strain at a dramatic moment (7)

I believe the answer is:

tensely

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'how to show' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'strain at a dramatic moment' is the wordplay.
'strain' becomes 'tense' (synonyms).
'at' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'a dramatic moment' becomes 'ly' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'tense'+'ly'='TENSELY'

'the' acts as a link.

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