tenet

American  

[ten-it, tee-nit] / ˈtɛn ɪt, ˈti nɪt /

noun

• tenets
  plural

1. any opinion, principle, doctrine, dogma, etc., especially one held as true by members of a profession, group, or movement.

   Synonyms:

   position, belief

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tenet British  

/ ˈtiːnɪt, ˈtɛnɪt /

noun

1. a belief, opinion, or dogma

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Pronunciation

The word tenet is often mispronounced as , with an extra /n/ sound in the second syllable—exactly like the word tenant (meaning someone who rents and occupies an apartment, office, etc.). It is a mistake made by people across a wide range of educational backgrounds, because it is such a natural one to make: English has thousands of words that end in the unstressed syllable -ant or -ent, such as parent, accident, potent, and relevant. Moreover, the two sounds at the end of all these words—/n/ and /t/—are very easily made together because we pronounce them with the tongue in the same place, touching the upper palate (or roof) of the mouth. The almost identical-sounding and common word tenant makes it all too easy for the extra /n/ to creep into the second syllable of tenet. Another word that is liable to be mispronounced in a similar way, with an extra /n/ in the second syllable, is pundit. No doubt the first /n/ in both tenet and pundit also influences their mispronunciation. And in pundit, the /d/ sound is another one made in the same place as both /n/ and /t/. Talk about piling on!

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• tenets
  plural

Etymology

Origin of tenet

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin: “he holds,” 3rd person singular present indicative of tenēre “to hold”; cf. tenant ( def. )

Explanation

A tenet is a principle or belief honored by a person or, more often, a group of people. "Seek pleasure and avoid pain" is a basic tenet of Hedonism. "God exists" is a tenet of most major religions. Tenet is pronounced "ten’it." The word evolved from the Latin tenere "to hold." The noun tenet is an opinion or doctrine one holds. It usually refers to a philosophy or a religion, but it doesn't have to — for instance, Eastern medicine has different tenets from Western medicine. One of the central tenets of succeeding in the workplace is that a good offense is the best defense.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tenet tenets

But Sumrall and Whitt believe in an old-school tenet of the gridiron.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

That is a key tenet of how the stock market works.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026

That sentiment is a key tenet of El Temach's messaging - but he did not always hold these views, according to his sister Alex.

From BBC ● May 27, 2026

Heifetz is grounded in her decision by a central tenet of Earthseed, the fictional religion Butler constructs in “Parable of the Sower.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2026

But at the center of their philosophy was the most important tenet of the Pythagoreans: all is number.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

But I think about two core tenets of my faith.

From Salon ● Sep. 30, 2026

“It’s such a complex, yet entertaining novel. We learned a lot about the tenets of Islam as woven into the story,” Ellyn Moscowitz shares about their book club pick.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

“That is one of the tenets Dick tried to get across: Always put stores first.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

It added that her actions "were a serious departure from the standards expected from a registered nurse" while she "breached fundamental tenets of the profession".

From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2026

One of the tenets of Armstrong’s creed was that you can’t trust the role that doctors have assumed.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Related Words

• assumption
• credo
• creed
• doctrine
• dogma
• faith
• precept
• presumption
• teaching