verb

teindre

dye

Definition & meaning

Teindre is a French verb meaning “to dye” or “to color” something by applying a substance that changes its color.

It is commonly used for:

Textiles and materials: to dye fabric, clothing, leather, or wool.
Hair: to dye or color one’s hair.
Other objects: to give something a particular color.

Examples:

Teindre un tissu en bleu — to dye fabric blue
Teindre ses cheveux — to dye one’s hair
La lumière teinte le ciel de rose — the light tints the sky pink

It can also be used figuratively to mean to give something a particular character or tone, as in teindre un récit de mélancolie — “to give a story a melancholic tone.”

Grammar & Word origin

Teindre is an irregular third-group verb ending in -indre.

Its principal forms include:

Present: je teins, tu teins, il teint
Infinitive: teindre
Past participle: teint
Imperfect: je teignais
Future: je teindrai

The past participle teint is also used as a noun or adjective meaning “complexion”, “tint”, or “dyed.”

The verb comes from Latin tingere, meaning “to dye,” “to color,” or “to dip.”

Synonyms & antonyms

Synonyms

colorer — “to color”; broader than teindre, since it can refer to coloring something without necessarily using a dye that penetrates the material.
teinter — “to tint” or “to give a slight shade”; generally lighter or less intense than teindre.
pigmenter — “to pigment”; more technical and often used for adding pigment to a substance.

Antonyms

décolorer — “to discolor,” “to bleach,” or “to remove color”; this is the clearest opposite when color is being removed.
blanchir — “to whiten” or “to bleach”; a more specific opposite when the result is white or pale.
déteindre — “to run,” “to fade,” or “to bleed color”; it describes color leaving or spreading from a material rather than deliberately removing it.