tenacity

noun

te·​nac·​i·​ty tə-ˈna-sə-tē 

: the quality or state of being tenacious

Choose the Right Synonym for tenacity

courage, mettle, spirit, resolution, tenacity mean mental or moral strength to resist opposition, danger, or hardship.

courage implies firmness of mind and will in the face of danger or extreme difficulty.

the courage to support unpopular causes

mettle suggests an ingrained capacity for meeting strain or difficulty with fortitude and resilience.

a challenge that will test your mettle

spirit also suggests a quality of temperament enabling one to hold one's own or keep up one's morale when opposed or threatened.

her spirit was unbroken by failure

resolution stresses firm determination to achieve one's ends.

the resolution of pioneer women

tenacity adds to resolution implications of stubborn persistence and unwillingness to admit defeat.

held to their beliefs with great tenacity

Examples of tenacity in a Sentence

If there is a particular tenacity in Islamist forms of terrorism today, this is a product not of Islamic scripture but of the current historical circumstance that many Muslims live in places of intense political conflict. —Max Rodenbeck, New York Book Review, 30 Nov. 2006

… everything about a person, even the most blameless of facts, can have the sticky tenacity of a secret. —Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2002

A tribute to tenacity, the free ascent of Trango Tower was the fulfillment of a cowboy climber's dream. —Todd Skinner, National Geographic, April 1996

Recent Examples on the Web

And there likely will be much reflection on the country’s ingenuity and tenacity — including that shown by the Prairie State over the past 250 years. —Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 23 May 2026

The news of Busch’s death has sent the motorsports world reeling, with tributes pouring in from all over the globe to Busch’s tenacity and penchant for winning. —Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 22 May 2026

The elder Foligno brother was a good deadline acquisition, bringing veteran smarts, leadership and the requisite tenacity to a team that needed it for a playoff run. —John Shipley, Twin Cities, 20 May 2026

The director should have trusted the audience (which will be tennis fans) and shown more long rallies to capture Nadal’s ferocious tenacity but there are plenty of great on-court moments throughout. —Stuart Miller, Los Angeles Times, 18 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English tenacite, borrowed from Middle French tenacité, borrowed from Latin tenācitāt-, tenācitās, from tenāc-, tenāx "holding fast, tenacious" + -itāt- -itās -ity

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for tenacity

• audacity
• capacity
• fugacity
• loquacity
• mendacity
• opacity
• rapacity
• sagacity
• veracity
• vivacity
• voracity
• incapacity

Kids Definition

tenacity

noun

te·​nac·​i·​ty tə-ˈnas-ət-ē 

: the quality or state of being tenacious