tenacious

adjective te·na·cious \ tə-ˈnā-shəs \

Updated on: 22 May 2018

Definition of tenacious

1 a : not easily pulled apart : cohesive

a tenacious metal

b : tending to adhere or cling especially to another substance

tenacious burs

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

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tenaciously

adverb

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tenaciousness

noun

See tenacious defined for English-language learners

See tenacious defined for kids

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Examples of tenacious in a Sentence

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
The company has a tenacious hold on the market.
a tenacious trainer, she adheres to her grueling swimming schedule no matter what

Recent Examples of tenacious from the Web

Groves was a Belmont University senior who studied social work and was described by her high school basketball coach Kim Kendrick on CBS News affiliate WTVF as a tenacious player.

— tim ghianni, Anchorage Daily News, "Police search Nashville schools in hunt for Waffle House shooter," 23 Apr. 2018
She was remembered as an exceptional student who made the dean’s list and a tenacious basketball player.

— sheila burke, The Seattle Times, "Waffle House slaying suspect arrested after massive manhunt," 23 Apr. 2018
She was remembered as an exceptional student who made the dean's list and a tenacious basketball player.

— Bloomberg.com, "Waffle House Slaying Suspect Arrested After Massive Manhunt," 23 Apr. 2018
The Bearcats were playing especially tenacious and efficient defense early.

— tom groeschen, Cincinnati.com, "No. 5-ranked UC suffers first loss since December, as Houston upsets Bearcats," 15 Feb. 2018
Ceren, 28, is known as a tenacious player who covers a lot of ground.

— corey roepken, Houston Chronicle, "Dynamo draft pick Michael Nelson gets shot with hometown team," 19 Jan. 2018
Rough and tumble, tenacious and pernicious: weeds are the archenemy of the gardener’s law and order.

— molly marquand, Good Housekeeping, "8 Weeds You Should Actually Let Grow In Your Yard," 28 July 2016
According to Marca, the tenacious 26-year-old has struggled to settle in France since his move to the Ligue 1 giants - despite scoring 28 goals in 30 matches before succumbing to a fractured foot in February.

— SI.com, "Spanish Report Claims Neymar 'Wants to Play Alongside Ronaldo' as Real Madrid Speculation Ramps Up," 6 May 2018
Jake Tapper, the tenacious anchor of CNN, the merciless slayer of alternative facts, the dogged deflator of political egos, has written a novel about corruption in Washington.

— the washington post, latimes.com, "Jake Tapper's thrilling, uneven McCarthy-era Washington drama, 'The Hellfire Club'," 4 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tenacious.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

tenacious Has Latin Roots

For all of its nearly 400 years, "tenacious" has adhered closely to its Latin antecedent: tenax, an adjective meaning "tending to hold fast." Almost from the first, "tenacious" could suggest either literal adhesion or figurative stick-to-itiveness. Sticker burrs are tenacious, and so are athletes who don't let defeat get them down. We use "tenacious" of a good memory, too - one that has a better than average capacity to hold information. But you can also have too much of a good thing. The addition in Latin of the prefix per- ("thoroughly") to "tenax" led to the English word pertinacious, meaning "perversely persistent." You might use "pertinacious" for the likes of rumors and telemarketers, for example.

Origin and Etymology of tenacious

Latin tenac-, tenax tending to hold fast, from tenēre to hold

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1607

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

tenacious Synonyms

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

TENACIOUS Defined for English Language Learners

tenacious

adjective

Definition of tenacious for English Language Learners

: not easily stopped or pulled apart : firm or strong
: continuing for a long time
: very determined to do something

TENACIOUS Defined for Kids

tenacious

adjective te·na·cious \ tə-ˈnā-shəs \

Definition of tenacious for Students

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.