Tenacious - Definition, Meaning & Synonyms

Maybe your like

SKIP TO CONTENT tenacious /təˈneɪʃəs/ /təˈneɪʃɪs/ IPA guide

Use tenacious to mean "not easily letting go or giving up," like a clingy child who has a tenacious grip on his mother's hand.

A strong grip or an unyielding advocate might both be described as tenacious, a word whose synonyms include resolute, firm, and persistent. The word comes from the Latin root tenax, which means "holding fast." The basketball commentator Marv Albert, impressed by a defender's skill, once uttered the sound bite, "That's some tenacious D!" ("D" is short for "defense.") The musicians Jack Black and Kyle Gass borrowed the phrase for the name of their comedy-rock band, Tenacious D.

Definitions of tenacious

adjective stubbornly unyielding “"a mind not gifted to discover truth but tenacious to hold it"- T.S.Eliot” “men tenacious of opinion” synonyms: dogged, dour, persistent, pertinacious, unyielding obstinate, stubborn, unregenerate tenaciously unwilling or marked by tenacious unwillingness to yield
adjective sticking together “tenacious burrs” synonyms: coherent adhesive tending to adhere
adjective good at remembering “tenacious memory” synonyms: long, recollective, retentive aware, mindful bearing in mind; attentive to

Pronunciation US /təˈneɪʃəs/ UK /təˈneɪʃɪs/ Cite this entry Style: MLA

MLA
APA
Chicago

Copy citation DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘tenacious'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback Word Family

Vocabulary lists containing tenacious

The Vocabulary.com Top 1000

The top 1,000 vocabulary words have been carefully chosen to represent difficult but common words that appear in everyday academic and business writing. These words are also the most likely to appear on the SAT, ACT, GRE, and ToEFL. To create this list, we started with the words that give our users the most trouble and then ranked them by how frequently they appear in our corpus of billions of words from edited sources. If you only have time to study one list of words, this is the list.

100 Top "SAT" Words

Looking to build your vocabulary? Then practice this list of 100 "top words" — the kind that used to be tested on the SAT before 2016. If you're a high school student prepping for the SAT, check out Vocabulary.com's Roadmap to the SAT, which focuses on the vocabulary you'll need to ace today's SAT test.

ASVAB Word Knowledge

The Word Knowledge section of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) is a vocabulary test that assesses word meanings, synonyms, and antonyms in a multiple-choice format. Practicing this list on Vocabulary.com will expand your word knowledge and hone your test-taking skills via a variety of contexts and question types.

MORE VOCABULARY LISTS 2 million people are mastering new words. Master a word

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.

Get started Learn with us

Learner subscriptions
Vocabulary lists
Dictionary
Test Prep
Join a Vocabulary Jam
Commonly confused words
Word of the day

Teach with us

For educators
For schools and districts
How it works
Success stories
Research
Professional development
Contact sales

Resources

Help articles/FAQ
Teaching resources
Learner resources
ESL/ELL resources
Grade level resources
IPA Pronunciation
Contact support

Leaderboards

Vocabulary Bowl
Today's leaders
Weekly leaders
Monthly leaders

About

Our Mission
Blog
Tell us what you think
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use

My Account Log in Sign up

Log Out
My Learning
My Proficiency Report
My Profile
Schools & Teachers
My Classes
Assignments & Activities
My Lists
- Find a List to Learn...
- Create a New List...
My Progress
- Words I'm Learning
- My Trouble Words
- Words I've Mastered
- My Achievements
User Administration
User Authentication
My Account