First Known Use: 1607
Dictionary
tenacious
adjective te·na·cious \tə-ˈnā-shəs\
: not easily stopped or pulled apart : firm or strong
: continuing for a long time
: very determined to do something
Full Definition of TENACIOUS
1
2
a : persistent in maintaining, adhering to, or seeking something valued or desired <a tenacious advocate of civil rights> <tenacious negotiators> b : retentive <a tenacious memory>
— te·na·ci·ous·ly adverb
— te·na·cious·ness noun
See tenacious defined for English-language learners
See tenacious defined for kids
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Examples of TENACIOUS
- But raw capitalism has also proved tenacious, evolving its own means of endlessly restimulating consumption … —Nicholas Fraser, Harper's, November 2003
- This “Southern Operation” would seal off China from outside help, thus underwriting victory in Japan's frustrating four-year war against Chiang Kai-shek's feckless but tenacious Chinese army. —David M. Kennedy, Atlantic, March 1999
- We have been nominally democratic for so long that we presume it is our natural condition rather than the product of persistent effort and tenacious responsibility. —Benjamin R. Barber, Harper's, November 1993
- Some people claim that by election day this year François Mitterrand had very little power besides the power of his own tenacious, authoritative, and austere persona. —Jane Kramer, New Yorker, 30 May 1988
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Origin of TENACIOUS
Latin tenac-, tenax tending to hold fast, from tenēre to hold
Related to TENACIOUS
- Synonyms
- dogged, insistent, patient, persevering, pertinacious, persistent
- Antonyms
- nonadhesive
Synonym Discussion of TENACIOUS
strong, stout, sturdy, stalwart, tough, tenacious mean showing power to resist or to endure. strong may imply power derived from muscular vigor, large size, structural soundness, intellectual or spiritual resources <strong arms> <the defense has a strong case>. stout suggests an ability to endure stress, pain, or hard use without giving way <stout hiking boots>. sturdy implies strength derived from vigorous growth, determination of spirit, solidity of construction <a sturdy table> <people of sturdy independence>. stalwart suggests an unshakable dependability <stalwart environmentalists>. tough implies great firmness and resiliency <a tough political opponent>. tenacious suggests strength in seizing, retaining, clinging to, or holding together <tenacious farmers clinging to an age-old way of life>.
Rhymes with TENACIOUS
audacious, bodacious, capacious, cetaceous, crustaceous, curvaceous, drupaceous, edacious, fallacious, flirtatious, fugacious, hellacious, herbaceous, loquacious, mendacious, micaceous, pomaceous, predaceous, pugnacious, rapacious, rosaceous, sagacious, salacious, sebaceous, sequacious, setaceous, testaceous, tufaceous, ungracious, veracious, vinaceous, voracious
TENACIOUS Defined for Kids
tenacious
adjective te·na·cious \tə-ˈnā-shəs\
Definition of TENACIOUS for Kids
1
: persistent <a tenacious fighter>
2
: not easily pulled apart
Word Root of TENACIOUS
The Latin words tenēre, meaning “to hold,” gives us the roots ten and tain. Words from the Latin tenēre have something to do with holding. Something tenacious holds on and is not easily gotten rid of. To contain is to hold things together inside. To obtain is to get hold of. To retain is to continue to hold.
Medical Dictionary
tenacious
adjective te·na·cious \tə-ˈnā-shəs\
Medical Definition of TENACIOUS
: tending to adhere or cling especially to another substance : viscous <coughed up 150 cc. of thick tenacious sputum—Journal of the American Medical Association>
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