We report on the electronic structure and the valence of Tm in TmTe studied under high pressure by X-ray absorption spectroscopy in the partial fluorescence yield mode (PFY-XAS). The pressure-dependent behavior of the Tm valence v can be divided into three regimes: (i) in the 0–3 GPa range Tm remains mostly divalent; (ii) in the 3–4.5 GPa range v rapidly increases up to 2.45; (iii) in the 4.5–10.6 GPa range v increases more gently up to 2.85. The variations of v in these regimes are consistent with previous compressibility data, though the pressure ranges slightly differ between both studies. More interestingly, our results shed new light on the highest pressure regime, where Tm still has not reached a full trivalent state unlike commonly accepted ideas.