TENABLE Synonyms: 78 Similar and Opposite Words

tenable

adjective

ˈte-nə-bəl

Definition of tenable

as in defendable

capable of being defended against physical attack the soldiers' encampment on the open plain was not tenable, so they retreated to higher ground

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in justifiable

capable of being defended with good reasoning against verbal attack the tenable theory that a giant meteor strike set off a chain of events resulting in the demise of the dinosaurs

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of tenable How tenable will an all-righty bench be over the medium to long term? — Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2026 But the more tenable tea on the name involves eighteenth-century trading ships of the British Empire. — Andrew Norman Wilson, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026 David Harris, a University of Pittsburgh law professor specializing in criminal law, said the charges against the protesters are more tenable, given the federal laws against disrupting the free exercise of worship. — Josh Funk, Chicago Tribune, 31 Jan. 2026 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 See All Example Sentences for tenable

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tenable

Adjective

The safe, defendable choice wasn’t necessarily the right one though.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2026

Definition of defendable

Adjective

The Fort Worth Independence Day shooting that killed one near Lake Arlington is being investigated as a justifiable homicide, according to a police report.

— Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 July 2026
Police are investigating the incident as a justifiable homicide, according to the release.

— Itzel Luna, Los Angeles Times, 28 June 2026

Definition of justifiable

Adjective

Rather than flying directly over heavily defended targets, bombers carrying the AGM-181A are expected to launch the missile from long distances outside the engagement range of sophisticated enemy air defenses.

— Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 13 July 2026
Every additional defended point becomes a resource allocation problem for Moscow.

— David A. Deptula, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026

Definition of defended

Adjective

For Western Union, MoneyGram and the agent networks that dominate cash sending, the excise is a tax on their most defensible product.

— Zennon Kapron, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026
The optimists in our midst are hoping for a big improvement on that and that one or both of them will land in the nine-to-16 range, but more than half of y’all are thinking bottom half of the league, and that’s more defensible.

— Josh Kendall, New York Times, 16 July 2026

Definition of defensible

Adjective

The project got a huge boost in 2022, when Bill Witte and his wife Keiko Sakamoto contributed $4 million toward its construction and, with that, secured naming rights for the facility.

— Erika I. Ritchie, Oc Register, 10 July 2026
Earlier this year, Germany’s RTL, the country’s leading commercial broadcaster, secured approval to acquire Comcast’s German pay-TV business, Sky Deutschland.

— Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 8 July 2026

Definition of secured

Adjective

For example, Paris has an aesthetic aversion to window units and rooftop HVAC systems, which helps explain why installing air-conditioning typically requires special permission from authorities, especially in protected or historic areas.

— Thomas Chatterton Williams, The Atlantic, 28 June 2026
Most of them encrypted files in non-protected folders, anywhere from a handful to 24,000.

— Neil J. Rubenking, PC Magazine, 25 June 2026

Definition of protected

Adjective

The central question facing maritime regulators is how governments can ensure that increasingly powerful monitoring systems remain transparent, secure, and accountable while preserving public trust and legal legitimacy.

— IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 16 July 2026
The trend is creating opportunities not only for drone manufacturers but also for companies developing AI, software, electronic warfare and secure communications.

— Elsa Ohlen, CNBC, 15 July 2026

Definition of secure

Browse Nearby Words

ten

tenable

tenacious

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“Tenable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tenable. Accessed 19 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of tenable

adjective

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