What does tenet mean?
Word: Tenet
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Tenet means one of the main ideas or principles on which a larger system of thought rests.
Synonyms: principle, belief
Word origin: Taken straight from Latin tenet, a form of the verb tenere.
How do you spell tenet?
Syllables: ten - et
Tricky part: Tenant creeps in easily because the two words begin alike, yet they are different words. Check which one you are writing.
Watch out for: tenent, tenat
Memory tip: Give this word two matching vowels: an e each time, with no a anywhere in it.
Tenet in a sentence
Example 1: Hard work is a basic tenet of our coach's training plan.
Example 2: Accuracy is the chief tenet of good journalism, our teacher told us.
Example 3: One tenet of recycling is to use less in the beginning.
Fun Fact
Tenet is a palindrome: it reads the same from both ends, like level, radar and refer.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell Spies
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) tennet
b) sonnet
c) bonnet
d) gannet
Show answer
a) tennet. Sonnet, gannet and bonnet really do double the n, but this word has one.
Word Twins
Choose the correct option to fill both blanks:
1. Testing every idea by experiment is a central ___ of science. 2. The new ___ of the flat on the third floor moved in on Monday.
a) 'tenet' in both
b) tenant/tenet
c) 'tenant' in both
d) tenet/tenant
Show answer
d) tenet/tenant. An idea that science rests on is one word; the person renting a flat is the other.
Jumble Tumble
What is the meaning of the word that can be formed from the given letters?
ettne
a) a piece of open land beside a river
b) a small room at the top of a house
c) a principle held as true by a group of thinkers
d) a short poem with a fixed pattern of lines
Show answer
c) a principle held as true by a group of thinkers. Rearranged, the five letters give a noun for a key principle.
Back to the Roots
Choose the correct option:
Tenet came into English unchanged from Latin, as a form of tenere. What does the Latin word tenet mean?
a) he knows
b) he holds
c) he writes
d) he teaches
Show answer
b) he holds. A tenet is what a person holds to be true, and the Latin says exactly that.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. What would a cricket coach call a tenet of the game?
a) the new bats arrived on Friday
b) always respect the umpire's decision
c) the match starts at ten o'clock
d) the pitch is close to the station
Show answer
b) always respect the umpire's decision
2. A book on the tenets of organic farming would mainly explain ___.
a) the lives of famous farmers
b) the prices of seeds in the market
c) the beliefs that guide the method
d) the weather of each season
Show answer
c) the beliefs that guide the method
