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tenacious - 5 dictionary results

te⋅na⋅cious

  [tuh-ney-shuhs]
Use tenacious in a Sentence
–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
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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te·na·cious   (tə-nā'shəs)   
adj.  
  1. Holding or tending to hold persistently to something, such as a point of view.
  2. Holding together firmly; cohesive: a tenacious material.
  3. Clinging to another object or surface; adhesive: tenacious lint.
  4. 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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Tenacious

Te*na"cious\, a. [L. tenax, -acis, from tenere to hold. See Tenable, and cf. Tenace.]

1. Holding fast, or inclined to hold fast; inclined to retain what is in possession; as, men tenacious of their just rights.

2. Apt to retain; retentive; as, a tenacious memory.

3. Having parts apt to adhere to each other; cohesive; tough; as, steel is a tenacious metal; tar is more tenacious than oil. --Sir I. Newton.

4. Apt to adhere to another substance; glutinous; viscous; sticking; adhesive. "Female feet, too weak to struggle with tenacious clay." --Cowper.

5. Niggardly; closefisted; miserly. --Ainsworth.

6. Holding stoutly to one's opinion or purpose; obstinate; stubborn. -- Te*na"cious*ly, adv. -- Te*na"cious*ness, n.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Main Entry: te·na·cious
Pronunciation: t&-'nA-sh&s
Function: adjective
: tending to adhere or cling especially to another substance : VISCOUS tenacious sputum —Journal of the American MedicalAssociation>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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tenacious te·na·cious (tə-nā'shəs)
adj.

  1. Clinging to another object or surface; adhesive.
  2. Holding together firmly; cohesive.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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