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• tilak
  tilak

  noun

  a distinctive spot of colored powder or paste worn on the forehead by Hindu men and women as a religious symbol.
• Tilak
  Tilak

  noun

  Bal Gangadhar (ˈbæl ˈɡæŋədɑː), also called Lokamanya. 1856–1920, Indian nationalist leader, educationalist, and scholar, who founded (1914) the Indian Home Rule League

tilak

American  

[til-uhk] / ˈtɪl ək /

noun

• tilak,
  plural
• tilaks
  plural

1. a distinctive spot of colored powder or paste worn on the forehead by Hindu men and women as a religious symbol.

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Tilak ¹ British  

/ ˈtɪlək /

noun

1. Bal Gangadhar (ˈbæl ˈɡæŋədɑː), also called Lokamanya. 1856–1920, Indian nationalist leader, educationalist, and scholar, who founded (1914) the Indian Home Rule League

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tilak ² British  

/ ˈtɪlək /

noun

1. a coloured spot or mark worn by Hindus, esp on the forehead, often indicating membership of a religious sect, caste, etc, or (in the case of a woman) marital status

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• tilak
  plural
• tilaks
  plural

Etymology

Origin of tilak

From the Sanskrit word tilaka

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tilak Tilak tilaks

Mr. Gandhi’s forehead has often been adorned with a red dot, or tilak, a mark of Hindu piety.

From New York Times ● Dec. 3, 2022

Mr. Chaturvedi was making rounds of the area’s factories wearing a red tilak, the smudge of vermilion applied after Hindu prayers, and a Los Angeles Lakers cap.

From New York Times ● Mar. 24, 2017

After receiving the Hindu religious tilak mark on their foreheads, the Carters met villagers.

From Time Magazine Archive

His associates asked him why he had dared to alter his tilak or sect-mark.

From The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume II by R. V. (Robert Vane) Russell

The tilak of the Vallabhachāryas is said to consist of two white lines down the forehead, forming a half-circle at its base and a white dot between them.

From The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume II by R. V. (Robert Vane) Russell

The presence of Abhishek, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube and Axar Patel would appear to only increase the importance of England off-spinner Jacks.

From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2026

Spinner Washington Sundar and batsman Tilak Varma are recovering from injury, but both are expected to be fit.

From Barron's ● Feb. 3, 2026

Batter Tilak Varma and spinner Washington Sundar are both racing against time to be fit for the World Cup despite being named in the squad.

From Barron's ● Jan. 20, 2026

Police said the man was a sweeper who lived close to the woman's home in the city's Tilak Nagar area.

From BBC ● Feb. 15, 2022

It is of no slight significance that photographs have been discovered of groups of these young men—some of whom were subsequently convicted for serious offences—with Tilak himself in their midst.

From Indian Unrest by Sir Valentine Chirol

I wore these spots of shine and silver like tilaks, the marks of colour that we Hin­dus wear on our foreheads as symbols of the divine.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel