tenacious

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adjective te·na·cious \ tə-ˈnā-shəs \

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

tenacious was our Word of the Day on 11/30/2008. Hear the podcast!

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

Once Civil War soldiers march on to their next battle, say, or a country turns its attention to healing after a terrorist attack, a witness tree remains as a biologically tenacious symbol of the past.

— mike yessis, Smithsonian, "These Five “Witness Trees” Were Present At Key Moments In America’s History," 25 Aug. 2017
Engaging, talented, intense, aggressive, tenacious, focused, intelligent, temperamental, leader and versatile are used to describe Trey, a student at Schulze Elementary School on Detroit's west side whose favorite subject is English.

— perry a. farrell, Detroit Free Press, "Size doesn't matter when it comes to Trey Banks' competitive nature," 3 Aug. 2017
Aside from the tenacious grip that doesn't fall off a cliff, the one pervasive takeaway from evaluating the 1LE on the track is weight.

— jim resnick, Ars Technica, "Camaro goes nuclear: Chevrolet escalates the muscle car war," 18 July 2017
GM has been one of the most tenacious supporters of mild hybrids, a club that Volvo just joined.

— mark phelan, Detroit Free Press, "Volvo goes all-electric? Not so much," 6 July 2017
Our tenacious music team tackled more reviews Wednesday night.

— milwaukee, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Best and worst of Summerfest Day 7: Chris Stapleton thrives while T-Pain's Auto-tune flounders," 6 July 2017
As a prospect, Malone-Hatcher earned a reputation as a tenacious recruiter following his verbal commitment to Michigan last summer.

— orion sang, Detroit Free Press, "Michigan football's Corey Malone-Hatcher announces medical retirement," 5 July 2017
Nothing has stopped the country’s tenacious progress — not sanctions, not threats, not diplomacy.

— Washington Post, "Parsing hype from reality in North Korea’s ICBM claim," 4 July 2017
Since tropical fire ants rode Spanish trade ships to new continents in the 16th century, the tenacious critters have taken hold across the Southern United States and reached as far as Taiwan and Australia.

— ben panko, Smithsonian, "How Humans Helped Ants Invade the World," 27 June 2017

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

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tenacious Synonyms

Synonyms

dogged, insistent, patient, persevering, pertinacious, persistent

Antonyms

nonadhesive

Near Antonyms

quitting, surrendering, yielding; faltering, hesitant, hesitating, irresolute, vacillating, wavering; disloyal, faithless, false, fickle, inconstant, perfidious, traitorous, treacherous

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

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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

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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.