tinge
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To add a small amount of colour.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
tinjIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈtɪndʒ
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.
verb
transitive
To add a small amount of colour; to tint; (by extension) to add a small amount of some other thing.
intransitive
To change slightly in shade due to the addition of colour; (by extension) to change slightly in quality due to the addition of some other thing.
transitivefiguratively
To affect or alter slightly, particularly due to the actual or metaphorical influence of some element or thing.
noun
A small added amount of colour; (by extension) a small added amount of some other thing.
The degree of vividness of a colour; hue, shade, tint.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To add a small amount of colour; to tint; (by extension) to add a small amount of some other thing.
Used this way, tinge is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It stays understated rather than dramatic. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Mild
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Nearby words
- tinct , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use tinge
- “Her greying hair was tinged blond.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: to add a small amount of colour
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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.