Tent vs. Tint

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Grammarist

Tent and tint are are two commonly confused words that are pronounced in the same way but are spelled differently and have different meanings, which makes them homophones. We will examine the different meanings of the homophonic words tent and tint, the word origins of the terms, and some examples of their English usage in sentences.

A tent is a shelter that is made of canvas, nylon, or another cloth that is supported by poles and staked with pegs and guylines. A tent is usually intended to be a temporary shelter. Tents are used by campers when staying outdoors or in the wilderness. Camping tents are usually waterproof or water resistant and have mesh doors and windows to allow air to enter, but not insects. Tents are also used for outdoor parties like wedding receptions or to house temporary venues like firework stands or vaccination clinics. Tent is also used as a verb to mean to cover something in the manner of the shape of a tent or to make something into the shape of a tent, like tenting one’s fingers. Related words are tents, tented, tenting. The word tent is derived from the Latin word tenta, which means something that is stretched out, a reference to tents made of stretched animal skins.

A tint is a shade of color, a small amount of dye, or it may simply mean a slight amount of something. Tint is used as a noun or a verb; related words are tints, tinted, tinting. The word tint is derived from the Latin word tinctus, which means dyeing.

Examples

Jessica Prince, chief nursing officer with Greater New Bedford Community Health Center (GNBCHC), said the city wanted to do a drill with the tent and she suggested doing it at one of the school flu clinics because at a previous clinic they used a pop up tent and as it got later, it got darker and windier. (South Coast Today)

The Australian prime minister, Tony Abbott, has bitten into a raw onion as though it were an apple and tented his fingers like a real-life Mr Burns in a St Patrick’s Day video that managed to patronise not only the Irish but also, obscurely, the Vietnamese – but, when it comes to awkward interactions and break-outs of foot-in-mouth, his New Zealand counterpart arguably gives him a run for his money. (The Guardian)

Tint the primer with black paint — your paint store will do this for you. (Worcester Magazine)

talian farmer Cristian Mallocci could not believe his eyes when one of his eight dogs gave birth to the green-tinted puppy on the Mediterranean island. (The Daily Mail)