Karla Walsh Jasmine Browley 
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Tenet holds a centuries-long tenure in the English language, but its hometown is Latin. In that language, tenet is a form of the verb tenēre ("to hold") and means "s/he holds." Tenet was borrowed into English around 1600, probably because of use of the word in Latin writings to introduce text giving a principle or doctrine held by a person or group, such as a particular church or sect. The word’s English use today seems clearly linked: "a principle, belief, or doctrine generally held to be true, and especially one held in common by members of an organization, movement, or profession." Note that the similar-sounding word tenant is also from tenēre; it arrived in the 1300s and typically refers today to someone who rents or leases a house, apartment, etc., from a landlord. (Be careful not to use tenant where you want tenet.) Tenure is a tenēre descendant too.
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Tenets vs. Tenants
Thanks to its confusingly similar pronunciation, tenant (“occupant, land-holder”) is sometimes erroneously used in place of tenet (“principle, doctrine”). Consider this example:
One of the ancient tenants of the Buddist [sic] belief is, “He who sits still, wins” –Police, January/February 1968
You will probably never make the opposite mistake (that is, substitute tenet for tenant), but if you think you might, remember that tenant and occupant both end in -ant.
Examples of tenet in a Sentence
Howard Blume,
Los Angeles Times,
1 July 2026
The clock seemed to rewind 1,400 years as tenets established at the religion’s dawn—Sharia law—were formalized into the doctrine of Velayat-e Faqih, the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist.
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Lily Moayeri,
SPIN,
29 June 2026
Public Luxury is less a dissertation on those tenets than an emotional response to the struggle to achieve it—mouths dripping with venom, eyes swollen with tears, hearts heavy with love.
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Matthew Ismael Ruiz,
Pitchfork,
26 June 2026
And yet, as masculine dress became plainer and more uniform, not caring about fashion—or at least the appearance of not caring about fashion—became a key tenet of American masculinity.
—
Literary Hub,
25 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for tenet
Cite this Entry
“Tenet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tenet. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
tenet
noun
