tenable

adjective

ten·​a·​ble ˈte-nə-bəl 

: capable of being held, maintained, or defended : defensible, reasonable

tenability

ˌte-nə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

noun

tenableness noun

tenably

ˈte-nə-blē 

adverb

Did you know?

Hold Onto the Meaning of Tenable

Tenable means "holdable". In the past it was often used in a physical sense—for example, to refer to a city that an army was trying to "hold" militarily against an enemy force. But nowadays it's almost always used when speaking of "held" ideas and theories. If you hold an opinion but evidence appears that completely contradicts it, your opinion is no longer tenable. So, for example, the old ideas that cancer is infectious or that being bled by leeches can cure your whooping cough now seem untenable.

Synonyms of tenable

• defendable
• defended
• defensible
• secured
• protected
• secure

Examples of tenable in a Sentence

the soldiers' encampment on the open plain was not tenable, so they retreated to higher ground

the tenable theory that a giant meteor strike set off a chain of events resulting in the demise of the dinosaurs

Recent Examples on the Web

These Countries, who are playing this very dangerous game, have put a level of risk in play that is not tenable or sustainable. —Washington Examiner Staff, The Washington Examiner, 19 Jan. 2026

The premise that China would remain a status-quo power anchored in the old trading order is no longer tenable. —Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Time, 15 Jan. 2026

After the war, many Iranians hoped things would change and that the government would leverage the nationalistic rally around the flag to introduce a more tenable social contract with the populace. —Cnn Staff, CNN Money, 9 Jan. 2026

While the Leafs — and in particular, their stars — deserve credit for storming back with the kind of emotion and precision that has oft been lacking from their game, Tuesday’s performance was not tenable. —Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 17 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French, going back to Old French, "capable of being defended against attack," from tenir "to hold, have possession of" + -able -able — more at tenant entry 1

First Known Use

1579, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for tenable

• amenable
• untenable

Kids Definition

tenable

adjective

ten·​a·​ble ˈten-ə-bəl 

: capable of being held, maintained, or defended

a tenable argument