tenacious
adjective
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Tenacious Has Latin Roots
For the more than 400 years that tenacious has been a part of the English language, it has adhered closely to its Latin antecedent: tenāx, an adjective meaning "holding fast," "clinging," or "persistent." Almost from the first, tenacious could suggest either literal adhesion or figurative stick-to-itiveness. Sandburs 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 tenāx led to the English word pertinacious, meaning "perversely persistent." You might use pertinacious for the likes of rumors and spam calls, for example.
Examples of tenacious in a Sentence
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
Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 26 June 2025
If any tenacious wax is stuck to the tip of the dome, try using the wire loop on the reverse of the brush to gently scoop it out.
—Christopher Null, Wired News, 22 June 2025
Collin Murray-Boyles (South Carolina, Freshman, F) Murray-Boyles is a great defender, a tenacious rebounder and connective playmaker.
—C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 21 June 2025
Reese, normally tenacious on the boards with an average of 11 rebounds, was a non-factor on the glass in the blowout loss.
—Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 21 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for tenacious
Cite this Entry
“Tenacious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tenacious. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
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tenacious
adjective
Medical Definition
tenacious
adjective
The Journal of the American Medical Association
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