tincture

American  

[tingk-cher] / ˈtɪŋk tʃər /

noun

1. Pharmacology. a solution of alcohol or of alcohol and water, containing animal, vegetable, or chemical drugs.

2. a slight infusion, as of some element or quality.

   A tincture of education had softened his rude manners.

3. a trace; a smack or smattering; tinge.

   a tincture of irony.

4. Heraldry. any of the colors, metals, or furs used for the fields, charges, etc., of an escutcheon or achievement of arms.

5. a dye or pigment.

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verb (used with object)

tinctures, present (3rd person singular) tinctured, past participle, past tincturing present participle

1. to impart a tint or color to; tinge.

2. to imbue or infuse with something.

tincture British  

/ ˈtɪŋktʃə /

noun

1. pharmacol a medicinal extract in a solution of alcohol

2. a tint, colour, or tinge

3. a slight flavour, aroma, or trace

4. any one of the colours or either of the metals used on heraldic arms

5. obsolete a dye or pigment

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verb

1. (tr) to give a tint or colour to

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• pretincture
  noun
• untinctured
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• tincturing
  present
• tinctured
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• tincture
  simple
• tinctures
  simple
• have tinctured
  perfect
• has tinctured
  perfect
• am tincturing
  progressive
• are tincturing
  progressive
• is tincturing
  progressive
• have been tincturing
  perfect progressive
• has been tincturing
  perfect progressive

Past

• tinctured
  simple
• had tinctured
  perfect
• was tincturing
  progressive
• were tincturing
  progressive
• had been tincturing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will tincture
  simple
• will have tinctured
  perfect
• will be tincturing
  progressive
• will have been tincturing
  perfect progressive

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tincture tinctures tinctured tincturing

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

The psychiatrist kept referring to “the tincture of time,” promising we’d know more in three months, or six, or nine.

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

This morning, I rubbed some herbal tincture onto my chest.

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy

On the festival’s central “avenue,” I browsed stands selling mycological games, art, tinctures and clothing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2025

Edible mushrooms have become a staple of the supplement aisle, with powdered mushroom mixes, concentrated tinctures, and other goods that boast a smorgasbord of health benefits.

From National Geographic ● Jan. 31, 2024

I mention it here because Grateful Desert’s website offers a deep bench of similarly calming lotions, tinctures and aromatherapy sprays.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2023

Detractors of hemp-based products, which range from gummies and topical creams to seltzers and tinctures, argue that these goods have leveraged legal "loopholes" and that they are unregulated.

From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2023

The light had become the putrid green of necrosis, reflected in the bottles of amber tinctures cluttering the shelves.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

Lawrence bounds over to a shelf with several jars of a brown tinctured slurry, the results of which they’ll use to create a cacao perfume.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2025

Baehrel has a thing for molecular gastronomy; his small bites are dehydrated, infused, and tinctured on their way from lawn to mouth.

From BusinessWeek ● Dec. 12, 2013

But the celebration was tinctured with deep unease.

From New York Times ● Sep. 22, 2011

That valuable reference, generously tinctured with the author's wit, has not been allowed to go out of date; it was revised only last year by Sir Ernest Gowers, himself an eminent lexicographer.

From Time Magazine Archive

It jutted out across our path, and was plainly distinguishable, for the night was pure and clean, and appeared to be tinctured with a vague light from the snow-fields.

From The Courtship of Morrice Buckler A Romance by Mason, A. E. W. (Alfred Edward Woodley)

Here Gronk pantomimed forcibly tincturing a noncompliant Belichick.

From Slate ● Jan. 6, 2020

Perhaps Mother had taught me about it, when we were picking rosehips or tincturing hawthorn.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

Everything took on a wistfulness in the evening air, which the sunset was tincturing like claret poured into water.

From What Will People Say? A novel by Hughes, Rupert

Yellowness, tincturing her tho' nowise sick or sorry, iv.

From The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 10 by Burton, Richard Francis, Sir

A few of us, however, could not prevent an element of pity from tincturing our amusement.

From Grey Roses by Harland, Henry