Library / English Dictionary

TINGE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A pale or subdued color

Synonyms:

tinge; undertone

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("tinge" is a kind of...):

shade; tincture; tint; tone (a quality of a given color that differs slightly from another color)

Derivation:

tinge (color lightly)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A slight but appreciable amount

Example:

this dish could use a touch of garlic

Synonyms:

hint; jot; mite; pinch; soupcon; speck; tinge; touch

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Hypernyms ("tinge" is a kind of...):

small indefinite amount; small indefinite quantity (an indefinite quantity that is below average size or magnitude)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "tinge"):

snuff (a pinch of smokeless tobacco inhaled at a single time)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Color lightly

Example:

the leaves were tinged red in November

Synonyms:

tinct; tinge; tint; touch

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "tinge" is one way to...):

color; color in; colorise; colorize; colour; colour in; colourise; colourize (add color to)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "tinge"):

henna (apply henna to one's hair)

tincture (stain or tinge with a slight amount of a color)

complexion (give a certain color to)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

tincture (a substance that colors or dyes)

tinge (a pale or subdued color)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Affect as in thought or feeling

Example:

The sadness tinged his life

Synonyms:

color; colour; distort; tinge

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "tinge" is one way to...):

affect; bear on; bear upon; impact; touch; touch on (have an effect upon)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Credits

 Context examples: 

I used to think she had neither complexion nor countenance; but in that soft skin of hers, so frequently tinged with a blush as it was yesterday, there is decided beauty; and from what I observed of her eyes and mouth, I do not despair of their being capable of expression enough when she has anything to express.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

A team of scientists led by Ian Boutle at the University of Exeter have created successful simulations of two possible atmospheres of Proxima B, an exoplanet orbiting Proxima Centauri, one a simple atmosphere of nitrogen tinged with carbon dioxide and another an Earth-like mix of gases.

(Simulations show planet orbiting Proxima Centauri could have liquid water, Wikinews)

A light glimmered in each of his dull eyes, a tinge of colour came into his wax-like cheeks, and, opening his toothless mouth, he suddenly emitted a peculiar, bell-like, and most musical cry.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It was with a feeling of personal pride that I could see a faint tinge of colour steal back into the pallid cheeks and lips.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

This and a certain tinge of superstition were the only unusual traits in his character which his brother officers had observed.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

When we rose again, I observed Holmes’s eyes were shining and his cheeks tinged with colour.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I know her disposition to be as sweet and faultless as your own, but the influence of her former companions makes her seem—gives to her conversation, to her professed opinions, sometimes a tinge of wrong.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

His tangled beard, grizzled hair, and outstanding, drooping eyebrows combined to give an air of dignity and power to his appearance, but his face was of an ashen white, while his lips and the corners of his nostrils were tinged with a shade of blue.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It was quite as cadaverous as it had looked in the window, though in the grain of it there was that tinge of red which is sometimes to be observed in the skins of red-haired people.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Her hair of a shining raven black, and curiously braided; her eyes were dark, but gentle, although animated; her features of a regular proportion, and her complexion wondrously fair, each cheek tinged with a lovely pink.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)