tenue
French, noun
tenue is spelled T-E-N-U-E (5 letters) and appears 42 times per million words in written French, the 1,996th most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Tenue is a French feminine noun meaning “maintenance, upkeep” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is also a feminine singular of tenu. With an accent, ténue is a different word: “feminine singular of ténu”. The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Action de tenir”.
What does tenue mean in English?
noun
- 1
femininemaintenance, upkeep
- 2
femininerunning (of a shop)
- 3
feminineholding, sustaining (of a note)
- 4
femininemanners, (good) behaviour (UK) / behavior (US)
- 5
femininequality, standard
- 6
feminineposture
- 7
feminineperformance
- 8
femininedress, appearance, outfit
verb
- 1
femininefeminine singular of tenu
adjective
- 1
femininefeminine singular of ténu
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
adjective: 1. Féminin singulier de ténu.
noun: 1. Action de tenir. 2. Ancrage d’un navire. 3. Remplissage et maintien à jour des livres comptables. 4. Art de garder une bonne assiette et une position correcte à cheval.
The definition in the French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), in French.
Source: French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of tenue
- tenues plural
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to tenue
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is tenue in French?
tenue appears 42 times per million words in written French.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).