Tenet

//ˈtɛnɪt// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An opinion, belief, or principle that is held as absolute truth by someone or especially an organization.

    "The Buddhist concept of tanha, for example — roughly translated as “blind demandingness” — encapsulates many tenets of R.E.B.T. and points the way toward emotional equanimity: stop asking more of the universe than it can possibly deliver."

  2. 2
    a religious doctrine that is proclaimed as true without proof wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
dogmaa beliefarticle of faithaxiombeliefcanon

Antonyms

All antonyms
doubt

Example

More examples

"It is necessary for every person who stands for progress to criticise every tenet of old beliefs."

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin tenet (“he, she, or it holds”), from teneō (“hold; have”). Compare obsolete tenent. See tenable.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.