tincture
Americannoun
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Pharmacology. a solution of alcohol or of alcohol and water, containing animal, vegetable, or chemical drugs.
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a slight infusion, as of some element or quality.
A tincture of education had softened his rude manners.
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a trace; a smack or smattering; tinge.
a tincture of irony.
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Heraldry. any of the colors, metals, or furs used for the fields, charges, etc., of an escutcheon or achievement of arms.
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a dye or pigment.
verb (used with object)
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to impart a tint or color to; tinge.
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to imbue or infuse with something.
noun
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pharmacol a medicinal extract in a solution of alcohol
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a tint, colour, or tinge
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a slight flavour, aroma, or trace
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any one of the colours or either of the metals used on heraldic arms
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obsolete a dye or pigment
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of tincture
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English: “dye,” from Latin tīnctūra “dyeing”; equivalent to tinct + -ure
Explanation
A tincture is a trace or indication that reveals the presence of something. In pharmacology, a tincture is type of medicine extracted from a plant in an alcohol solution. There are many meanings to the word tincture, but most of them involve something that leaves a trace or residue. A barrel-aged drink could have a tincture of oak. After a breakup, seeing an old flame could leave a tincture of sadness. When making drugs, a tincture is created by soaking a plant in an alcohol solution: traces of the plant are absorbed into the alcohol, creating medicine. The root is the Latin word tinctura, "act of dying or tingeing."
Vocabulary lists containing tincture
Educated
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Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
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Ophelia
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But the 29-year-old, who ordered lion's mane online to add to coffees at home, found it expensive and switched to drinking lion's mane tincture mixed into water instead.
From BBC • Nov. 22, 2025
We’d only know given the tincture of time.
From Salon • Dec. 31, 2024
Then I’ll spray my pillow and sheets with a handmade tincture of lavender, chamomile and saltwater to bring a restful sleep and sweet dreams.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 6, 2023
The tincture of time will primarily heal this problem.
From Slate • Dec. 5, 2022
“First just his toes. Then his heels. Finally the rest, both feet. Nothing I’ve given him—no tincture, no tonic—has had the slightest effect in curing him.”
From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
