tenure
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A status of having a permanent post with enhanced job security within an academic institution.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
tehnyerSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈtɛnjɚ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A status of having a permanent post with enhanced job security within an academic institution.
A status of possessing a thing or an office; an incumbency.
A period of time during which something is possessed.
The right to hold property; part of an ancient hierarchical system of holding lands
A right to hold land under the feudal system.
verb
transitive
To grant tenure, the status of having a permanent academic position, to (someone).
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A status of having a permanent post with enhanced job security within an academic institution.
Used this way, tenure is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in academic writing contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Academic writing
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use tenure
- “She was tenured after she published her book.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.