tenet

American  

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

noun

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!

Etymology

Origin of tenet

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

Example Sentences

And that, in so many ways, was the basic tenet of German foreign policy.

From BBC

“The core tenets of the thesis are still very much in place,” Fitzpatrick said.

From The Wall Street Journal

The core tenets of somatics are a series of slow movements designed to release tension that leads to pain and hinders flexibility and mobility.

From The Wall Street Journal

Steve Sosnick, the chief strategist at Interactive Brokers, writes that the president’s comments “challenged investors’ perceptions about a speedy end to hostilities and a fundamental tenet of U.S. equities’ placid response to the crisis.”

From Barron's

A key tenet of China’s philosophy on energy security is to produce as much as possible of what it needs from resources within its borders.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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