tint
/tɪnt/
tint is pronounced tint (/tɪnt/). Tint refers to a slight shade or color applied to something, or to tinting a material by adding a small amount of color. It can also describe a slight variation or hint of a quality. In everyday use, tint often implies a subtle change rather than a bold hue, and can function as both a noun and a verb in contexts like coloring or tinting glass. The concept centers on small, qualitative modification rather than full saturation.
Tint refers to a slight shade or color applied to something, or to tinting a material by adding a small amount of color. It can also describe a slight variation or hint of a quality. In everyday use, tint often implies a subtle change rather than a bold hue, and can function as both a noun and a verb in contexts like coloring or tinting glass. The concept centers on small, qualitative modification rather than full saturation.
"The window glass has a blue tint that reduces glare."
"She chose a light tint of rose on her cheeks for a natural glow."
"The artist added a tint of green to brighten the landscape."
Pronounce it as /tɪnt/. The first syllable is a short, lax /ɪ/ as in 'sit,' followed by a crisp /n/ and a final /t/. Stress is on the single syllable (monosyllabic word). The mouth opens slightly for /t/ and /ɪ/, with the tongue near the alveolar ridge and the tip touching it briefly for /t/. You’ll hear a clean, short vowel, not a diphthong. IPA: US/UK/AU - /tɪnt/.
Common mistakes include pronouncing with a lax, reduced vowel like /ɪ/ higher or lower than standard; adding an extra vowel (e.g., /ˈtɪ.ənt/); or slurring into /tʃ/ or /tɹ/. The correction is to keep one tight, single syllable with /ɪ/ as in 'sit' and to end promptly with a voiceless alveolar stop /t/. Ensure the tongue tip taps the alveolar ridge briefly; avoid adding an extra glide or vowel.
In US, UK, and AU, tint is generally /tɪnt/. The primary variation is rhotics and vowel color in surrounding consonants or vowels in linked speech. Non-rhotic accents may show clearer final /t/ without linking to following words. In some fast speech, US speakers may reduce to a near-close unrounded vowel, but standard pronunciation remains /tɪnt/. IPA reference: /tɪnt/ for all three.
The challenge is maintaining the short, clipped /ɪ/ vowel in a closed syllable while ensuring a crisp, unvoiced final /t/. Some speakers slide toward a schwa or add a vowel after the /t/, producing /tɪnt/ vs. /tən(t)/. The key is a small mouth opening before the alveolar stop, quick tongue-tip contact, and finishing with a crisp stop without voicing. IPA note: /tɪnt/.
A unique feature is the precise, single-syllable articulation without diphthongization or syllabic consonants. The /ɪ/ is short and lax, not a stretched vowel, and the final /t/ should be unreleased in careful speech (aspirated only in strong enunciation). In connected speech, you can have a light aspiration on /t/ depending on the following sound, but the core is /tɪnt/ with a crisp final /t/.
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Tint comes from the Old French teint meaning ‘tone, color, hue,’ which itself derives from the Latin tingere ‘to dye, color, stain.’ The term entered English in the late Middle Ages as tint, tintise, or tintile in various forms, often meaning a color imparted to something. Its semantic arc tracks a shift from the physical act of dyeing to the broader sense of a characteristic imparted to something—whether a color, a quality, or a flavor. By the 16th–17th centuries, tint was commonly used for pigments and dyes in art and manufacturing, then expanding to more abstract uses such as tinting with a shade of opinion or mood. In contemporary usage, tint frequently denotes a subtle or partial coloration or modification, aligning with its historical emphasis on a trace or degree rather than a full transformation. First known use in English literature appears in medieval glossaries and dyeing texts, with evidence of tint as a noun meaning a color or dye and as a verb meaning to color or tint a material.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "tint" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "tint"
-int sounds
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