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

Frankie retrieved the medical kit from amid the scatter of jars and tincture bottles piled on an overturned apple crate in the corner.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

Her Anima Mundi Herbals is based in Brooklyn, N.Y., where the company manufactures herbal tinctures, elixirs, teas, herbal supplements and other botanicals.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

Most preshow work happens in her “dog room,” a basement utility space where pet scrubs and tinctures abound like makeup at Sephora.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 31, 2026

Nowadays, any pseudoscientific tinctures or broths are about as good as you can expect from the U.S. health care system.

From Salon ● May 6, 2025

The whole plant is harvested fresh for tinctures and extracts.

From National Geographic ● Feb. 7, 2024

I made some effort to keep up my schooling in the free time I had between scrapping and helping Mother make tinctures and blend oils.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

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

Behold how fair Creation is: The ocean-air Beats billowing upon the strand Of endless leagues of summer land, And freighted ships of scented bales, Wild blossoms, spread their tinctured sails.

From The Piper and the Reed by Robert W. Norwood

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

She also had received a whiff of the sweet, heavy gas which had been used, that seemed now to be tincturing the whole atmosphere of the car, especially in the long narrow passage.

From Jennie Baxter, Journalist by Robert Barr

“You are too particular,” said von Francius, after a pause, and with a flavor of some feeling which I did not quite understand tincturing his voice.

From The First Violin A Novel by Jessie Fothergill

Within that cave, where Penfold slept during his guardian's absence, the fires darted, tincturing with red the silver of the moonbeams against the sable wall of cliff.

From The Plowshare and the Sword A Tale of Old Quebec by John Trevena