tenacious
holding fast; characterized by keeping a firm hold (often followed by of): a tenacious grip on my arm; tenacious of old habits.
highly retentive: a tenacious memory.
persistent, stubborn, or obstinate.
adhesive or sticky; viscous or glutinous.
holding together; cohesive; not easily pulled asunder; tough.
Origin of tenacious
1Other words for tenacious
Other words from tenacious
- te·na·cious·ly, adverb
- te·na·cious·ness, noun
- o·ver·te·na·cious, adjective
- o·ver·te·na·cious·ness, noun
- un·te·na·cious, adjective
- un·te·na·cious·ness, noun
Words Nearby tenacious
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use tenacious in a sentence
There are a number of reasons why the birther myth remains so tenacious even in the face of hard evidence, according to Tali Sharot, a cognitive neuroscientist at University College London who studies how emotions influence people’s beliefs.
The Birther Myth Stuck Around For Years. The Election Fraud Myth Might Too. | Kaleigh Rogers | November 23, 2020 | FiveThirtyEightThough again, that strategy is much easier said than done — even if Butler isn’t much of a threat to pull up from three, he’s tenacious and swift enough to time his drives for extensive damage in the paint.
I mean, they understood later on that the Americans were tenacious and they’re just going to keep working.
When Your Safety Becomes My Danger (Ep. 432) | Stephen J. Dubner | September 24, 2020 | FreakonomicsThompson’s Hoyas, tenacious on defense, came to embody the rough and gritty Big East Conference of the 1980s, and Thompson was at the center of it all.
John Thompson’s Unapologetic Blackness Changed College Basketball | Santul Nerkar | September 1, 2020 | FiveThirtyEightThey may not throw knockout punches by themselves, but they do represent a tenacious setup combo that’s peppered throughout Miami’s 48-minute fights.
The Miami Heat’s Dynamic Duo Could Make Noise In The Playoffs | Michael Pina | August 12, 2020 | FiveThirtyEight
For half a century, Ferencz, a tenacious 95-year-old, has been on his own Lemkin-esque campaign.
But tenacious Albanian partisans kept reinserting the claim.
Ware, a tenacious pass-rusher, is a 7-time Pro Bowler and the Cowboys all-time leader in sacks, with 117 in nine seasons.
First Mega-Deal Is Done as the NFL’s Free Agent Scrap Begins | Ben Teitelbaum | March 12, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAttention all you Darwinists still battling the tenacious Creationists (and losing miserably)!
What the Man With No Ass Crack Can Teach Darwinists and Creationists | Kent Sepkowitz | January 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST“The only way to get justice is to patient and persistent and tenacious,” Browder says.
Fraud and the City: Russia’s Manhattan Money Laundering | Michael Daly | September 16, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTAnd an educational movement is more tenacious than any other sort of social or political movement whatever.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation | H. G. (Herbert George) WellsThe planters select a deep black loam or tenacious clay, or even loams mixed with sand.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.He was crotchetty and impracticable, a man of rash judgment and hasty action-as brave and as tenacious as a bulldog.
The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.III. | E. Farr and E. H. NolanHe realized how strong must be the sense of comradeship in Mr. Cornelius to break through his habits of tenacious secrecy.
The Woman Gives | Owen JohnsonBut Jack was only second to Nero in monkey tricks, and he held on in a most tenacious manner.
Jack Harkaway's Boy Tinker Among The Turks | Bracebridge Hemyng
British Dictionary definitions for tenacious
/ (tɪˈneɪʃəs) /
holding or grasping firmly; forceful: a tenacious grip
retentive: a tenacious memory
stubborn or persistent: a tenacious character
holding together firmly; tough or cohesive: tenacious cement
tending to stick or adhere: tenacious mud
Origin of tenacious
1Derived forms of tenacious
- tenaciously, adverb
- tenaciousness or tenacity (tɪˈnæsɪtɪ), noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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