Make Your Point: TENET

Make Your Point > Archived Issues > TENET

Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.

pronounce TENET:

TEN et

Hear it.

connect this word to others:

Where my daughter goes to Tae Kwon Do, there's this wonderful poster.

See if you can come up with that adjective in the fifth tenet! It means "unable to be tamed: strong, powerful, unstoppable, and impossible to beat or crush."

Of the five tenets listed, could you say which is most important to you in your life?

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

definition:

"Tenet" is Latin for "he holds." A tenet is something that you hold to be true.

In other words, a tenet is an important belief, or an idea or quality that you believe is deeply important, so you let it guide you.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Noun, the countable kind: "Self-interest is a tenet of capitalism;" "Certain theatrical tenets are passed down with the gravitas of religious law – never speak a line with your back to the audience!" (The Guardian).

Other forms:

Just the plural, "tenets."

how to use it:

Pick the clear, common, beautiful word "tenet" to describe an idea, a quality, or a belief that people hold dear.

You may have noticed that "tenet" is a palindrome: a word spelled the same forward or backward, with a beautiful kind of symmetry that suggests balance and truth.

We talk about the tenets of some specific religion, philosophy, industry, political party, or other group or belief, and we often identify which of these tenets are "central" or "basic."

We also talk about people learning, embracing, upholding, or invoking certain tenets—or about people denying, spurning, challenging, or violating certain tenets.

examples:

"A central tenet of the Kodály approach is that music belongs to everyone—that an education in music is the right of every human being and cannot be left to chance."
— Natalie Sarrazin, Music and the Child, 2014

"This interplay between background and foreground is a basic tenet of gospel [music]."
— Emily Lordi, The New Yorker, 17 December 2019

has this page helped you understand "tenet"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "tenet" without saying "principle" or "conviction."

try it out:

Fill in the blanks: "A central tenet of (something) is (something)."

Example 1: "A central tenet of skincare is using sunscreen daily."

Example 2: "A central tenet of writing for children or teens? Get adults out of the way. Adults are useless, and nothing slows a story down faster than parental units."
— Alison Stine, Salon, 10 January 2022

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game for April: Interpret the Titles!

I'll give you the title of some book, movie, or other creation, along with a summary, and I'll challenge you to interpret the title in three different ways.

For examples, and some tips if you get stuck, head here!

Try this one today: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a 1979 novel by Douglas Adams, based on a radio comedy. Here's a summary from the publisher: "It's an ordinary Thursday lunchtime for Arthur Dent until his house gets demolished. The Earth follows shortly afterwards to make way for a new hyperspace express route, and his best friend has just announced that he's an alien. At this moment, they're hurtling through space with nothing but their towels and an innocuous-looking book inscribed, in large friendly letters, with the words: DON'T PANIC." Wikipedia adds: "The namesake of the novel is The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a fictional guide book for hitchhikers (inspired by the Hitch-hiker's Guide to Europe) written in the form of an encyclopaedia."

1. It's titled The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy because... ?

2. It's titled The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy because... ?

3. It's titled The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy because... ?

To see some possible answers, scroll all the way down!

review this word:

1. A person with no tenets might find themselves

A. cash-strapped or even bankrupt.
B. directionless or even morally foundering.
C. out of ideas or even quitting the creative field.

2. In her work as a dietitian, Abbey Sharp _____ the tenet of _____.

A. speaks out against .. diet culture, which vilifies certain foods as "bad," "guilty," or "unclean"
B. upholds .. body autonomy, the principle that people should be allowed to gain and lose weight as they see fit
C. encourages .. everyone to allow themselves to eat intuitively, listening to the body's hunger and satiety cues

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.

From my blog:
On vocabulary...
  36 ways to study words.
  Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
  How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
How to improve any sentence.
How to motivate our kids to write.
How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.

From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

Make Your Point > Archived Issues > TENET Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.

Subscribe to "Make Your Point" for a daily vocabulary boost.

Make Your Point > Archived Issues > TENET

Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.