The Meaning of Tenet: What It Is and How To Use It

What is a tenet? What does the noun mean, and what does the movie mean? This article will teach you what you need to know about the meaning of tenet.

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The word tenet has many meanings — it’s even the name of a movie! If you want to know more about the many definitions of tenet, read on and expand your vocabulary. 

What Does the Word Tenet Mean?

According to Collins English Dictionary, tenet is a noun that refers to the principles upon which a belief is based. These are often the central values of an organization or religious doctrine. The word tenet is a palindrome, meaning that it is spelled the same way forwards and backward.

Tenet is also a UK movie directed by Christopher Nolan. The movie stars John David Washington as Protagonist, Aaron Taylor Johnson as Ives, Robert Pattinson as Neil, Kenneth Branagh as Russian oligarch Andrei Sator, Dimple Kapadia as Priya, and Elizabeth Debicki as Sator’s wife, Kat. The film is set in the future in a world that is upset at the present for causing climate change. It was in cinemas in 2020.

What Are Translations of the Word Tenet?

Each country has dominant religions, religious traditions, and tenets. If you are studying world religions or philosophies and need to know translations of the word tenet, this list below can be an excellent place to begin.

When studying this list, notice which of these words look similar to English words. Some of them might look similar to synonyms of tenet or the word tenet itself. 

Which of these words do you recognize, and which are new to you?

  • Greek: δόγμα‎ (neut.)
  • Mandarin: 原理‎ (yuánlǐ), 信條‎, 信条‎ (xìntiáo)
  • Finnish: dogmi‎, opinkappale‎
  • Bokmål: grunnsetning‎ (masc.) (f), dogme‎ (neut.), prinsipp‎ (neut.)
  • French: principe‎ (masc.); croyance‎ (fem.), dogme‎ (masc.)
  • Nynorsk: grunnsetning‎ (fem.), dogme‎ (neut.), prinsipp‎ (neut.)
  • Bulgarian: догма‎, догма‎ (cдогми) (formally)
  • Italian: principio‎ (masc.), fondamento‎ (masc.), cardine‎ (masc.)
  • Dutch: dogma‎, grondregel‎, overtuiging‎, stelling‎
  • Czech: princip‎ (masc.), dogma‎ (neut.), zásada‎ (fem.)
  • Portuguese: dogma‎ (masc.)
  • Russian: до́гмат‎ (masc.), доктри́на‎ (fem.), при́нцип‎ (masc.)
  • Turkish: düstur‎, ilke‎, prensip‎
  • Esperanto: dogmo‎
  • Spanish: creencia‎ (fem.), principio‎ (masc.), dogma‎ (masc.)
  • Tagalog: turo‎
  • Persian: اصل‎ (asl)
  • Polish: zasada‎ (fem.), dogmat‎ (masc.)
  • Swedish: grundsats‎ (common), dogm‎ (common)
  • German: Dogma‎ (neut.), Grundsatz‎ (masc.), Glaubenssatz‎ (masc.), Theorem‎ (neut.), Grundregel‎ (fem.)
  • Galician: principio‎ (masc.)

What Is the Etymology of the Word Tenet?

Etymology refers to a word’s origin and the roots that come together to form a specific word. Studying a word’s etymology help you understand a word better, and it can help you figure out the meanings of other words with the same root.

Per Your Dictionary, the word tenet has Medieval Latin roots. This word comes from the Latin present indicative of tenēre or tenere meaning to hold and the Latin teneō meaning hold or have. These come from the Indo-European prefix ten.

How Can the Word Tenet Be Used in a Sentence?

Tenet is often used in sentences to describe a philosophy’s foundation or a person’s morals. Before using this word in a sentence, make sure you truly understand its meaning. See if you can quiz yourself on its definition or make flashcards to test the knowledge you’ve gained.

Once you are confident in your knowledge of the word’s definition, look at the example sentences below to see how to use tenet in a sentence. Then, write example sentences on your own, or try to use this word in a conversation today. 

The arms dealer upheld the basic tenets of completing background checks to prove a sound mind before selling a gun.

Princeton University taught all of its incoming students about the basic tenets to follow at the school. If they did not follow them, they would be kicked out.

She vowed to uphold the tenets and part of a philosophy in her field of endeavor. However, she did not always agree with all of this field’s values.

In the tradition of his American Heritage, the man based his philosophies on the tenets of individualism and freedom.

The religion had very specific tenets that its members were required to hold. Otherwise, they would be swiftly excommunicated. 

What Are Synonyms of the Word Tenet?

The word tenet has many different words with similar definitions that can be used in its place. Why might someone choose to use a synonym instead of any given word? Sometimes words have different connotations. For example, tenet has a very different vibe than the word dogma. 

In addition, if you have already used the word tenet once in a conversation or piece of writing, it can be helpful to know synonyms to vary your language. This can help you create writing that is interesting to read. 

Try your hand at using one of the below synonyms of tenet from Power Thesaurus:

  • article of faith
  • assumption
  • axiom
  • belief
  • beliefs
  • canon
  • canons
  • code of belief
  • conviction
  • credo
  • creed
  • doctrine
  • dogma
  • faith
  • gospel
  • idea
  • ideology
  • law
  • maxim
  • notion
  • opinion
  • persuasion
  • philosophy
  • position
  • postulate
  • precept
  • premise
  • principle
  • principles
  • rule
  • self-conviction
  • set of beliefs
  • standard
  • teaching
  • teachings
  • theory
  • thesis
  • view

Conclusion

The word tenet is a noun that refers to a belief system’s foundational principles. Tenet can describe any sort of principle or philosophy. The word Tenet also refers to a film from 2020 that was directed by Christopher Nolan.

Sources:

  1. Tenet Meaning | Best 4 Definitions of Tenet | Your Dictionary 
  2. Tenet synonyms – 361 Words and Phrases for Tenet | Power Thesaurus 
  3. Tenet definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary