tenet
Definitions
A principle or belief held as true, especially by a group or doctrine
信条；教义；原则
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedA rare case where the whole word is a Latin verb form: tenet literally means 'he holds' (from tenēre 'to hold'). A tenet is a belief that a person or group 'holds' to be true — something firmly grasped and not let go. English borrowed the bare Latin word, so there's no prefix or suffix: the verb itself became the noun.
Root tain still carries 87 more wordsCommon Collocations
- 1.core tenet核心信条
- 2.central tenet中心原则
- 3.basic tenet基本信条
- 4.fundamental tenet根本原则
Example Sentences
- 1.
Honesty is a central tenet of their faith.
- 2.
The course challenges the basic tenets of classical economics.
- 3.
One key tenet of the movement is nonviolence.
Easily Confused
tenet vs. tenant: spelled almost identically but unrelated in use. A tenet is a belief you hold (a tenet of Buddhism); a tenant is a person who rents (a tenant in the flat). Memory hook: a teneT is a Truth you hold; a tenanT is a renTer. Both, interestingly, trace to 'holding' — you hold a belief, a tenant holds property.