tincture

[ tingk-cher ]
See synonyms for tincture on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. Pharmacology. a solution of alcohol or of alcohol and water, containing animal, vegetable, or chemical drugs.

  2. a slight infusion, as of some element or quality: A tincture of education had softened his rude manners.

  1. a trace; a smack or smattering; tinge: a tincture of irony.

  2. Heraldry. any of the colors, metals, or furs used for the fields, charges, etc., of an escutcheon or achievement of arms.

  3. a dye or pigment.

verb (used with object),tinc·tured, tinc·tur·ing.
  1. to impart a tint or color to; tinge.

  2. to imbue or infuse with something.

Origin of tincture

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English: “dye,” from Latin tīnctūra “dyeing”; equivalent to tinct + -ure

Other words from tincture

  • pre·tinc·ture, noun
  • un·tinc·tured, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use tincture in a sentence

  • It bears throughout an air of probability, untinctured by romance, and has the strong impress of truth and fidelity to nature.

  • He had received the opening words with satisfaction, not untinctured by the mild, patronising indulgence we show to children.

    Judith of the Cumberlands | Alice MacGowan
  • A keen sportsman, he was not untinctured by letters, and had indeed a cultivated taste for the fine arts.

    Coningsby | Benjamin Disraeli
  • He appeared not untinctured with religion; but his devotion, though unostentatious, was of a melancholy tenor.

    Edgar Huntley | Charles Brockden Brown
  • The first effect was a profound amazement, not untinctured by alarm.

British Dictionary definitions for tincture

tincture

/ (ˈtɪŋktʃə) /


noun
  1. pharmacol a medicinal extract in a solution of alcohol

  2. a tint, colour, or tinge

  1. a slight flavour, aroma, or trace

  2. any one of the colours or either of the metals used on heraldic arms

  3. obsolete a dye or pigment

verb
  1. (tr) to give a tint or colour to

Origin of tincture

1
C14: from Latin tinctūra a dyeing, from tingere to dye

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012