Tenacious - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

te·na·cious

Audio Help [tuh-ney-shuh

s] Pronunciation Key

–adjective

1.	holding fast; characterized by keeping a firm hold (often fol. by of): a tenacious grip on my arm; tenacious of old habits.

2.	highly retentive: a tenacious memory.

3.	pertinacious, persistent, stubborn, or obstinate.

4.	adhesive or sticky; viscous or glutinous.

5.	holding together; cohesive; not easily pulled asunder; tough.

[Origin: 1600–10; tenaci(ty) + -ous

]

—Related forms

te·na·cious·ly, adverb

te·na·cious·ness, noun

—Synonyms 3. opinionated, dogged. 4. clinging.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Tenacious

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

te·na·cious Audio Help (tə-nā'shəs) Pronunciation Key
adj.

Holding or tending to hold persistently to something, such as a point of view.
Holding together firmly; cohesive: a tenacious material.
Clinging to another object or surface; adhesive: tenacious lint.
Tending to retain; retentive: a tenacious memory.

[From Latin tenāx, tenāc-, holding fast, from tenēre, to hold; see ten- in Indo-European roots.]

te·na'cious·ly adv., te·na'cious·ness n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

tenacious
adjective
1.	good at remembering; "a retentive mind"; "tenacious memory" [syn: retentive] [ant: forgetful]
2.	stubbornly unyielding; "dogged persistence"; "dour determination"; "the most vocal and pertinacious of all the critics"; "a mind not gifted to discover truth but tenacious to hold it"- T.S.Eliot; "men tenacious of opinion" [syn: dogged]
3.	sticking together; "two coherent sheets"; "tenacious burrs" [syn: coherent]

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Tenacious

Per`ti*na"cious\, a.[L. pertinax, -acis; per + tenax tenacious. See Per-, and Tenacious.]

1. Holding or adhering to any opinion, purpose, or design, with obstinacy; perversely persistent; obstinate; as, pertinacious plotters; a pertinacious beggar.

2. Resolute; persevering; constant; steady.

Diligence is a steady, constant, and pertinacious study. --South.

Syn: Obstinate; stubborn; inflexible; unyielding; resolute; determined; firm; constant; steady. -- Per`ti*na"cious*ly, adv. -- Per`ti*na"cious*ness, n.

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