tenet means an opinion, belief, or principle that is held as absolute truth by someone or especially an organization. It carries an Arena rating of 1749, earned across 41 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, tenet ranks #73 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #1,078 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #1,681 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #2,671 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words.
tenet is pronounced /ˈtɛnɪt/.
Why “tenet” is a great word
TENET — [Noun] A principle or belief held to be true, especially by a group. From the Latin tenet ("he, she, or it holds"), from tenēre ("to hold, have"). Borrowed into English around 1600. Unlike "dogma," which is handed down by authority, or "precept," which serves as a rule for conduct, a tenet is a conviction actively grasped from within. It is the quiet resolve in a monk's cell, the unwavering line drawn in the sand of one's conscience, the single, unshakable stone upon which an edifice of thought is built—the thing we hold so tightly it begins, in turn, to hold us.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin tenet (“he, she, or it holds”), from teneō (“hold; have”). Compare obsolete tenent. See tenable.
noun
- An opinion, belief, or principle that is held as absolute truth by someone or especially an organization.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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