Adjacent Words

Tenable definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

TEN'ABLE, a. [L. teneo, to hold. See Tenant.]
That may be held, maintained or defended against an assailant, or against attempts to take it; as a tenable fortress. The works were not deemed tenable. The ground taken in the argument is not tenable.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: based on sound reasoning or evidence; "well-founded suspicions" [syn: tenable, well-founded]

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: Middle French, from Old French, from tenir to hold, from Latin ten?re — more at thin Date: 1579 capable of being held, maintained, or defended ; defensible, reasonable • tenability noun • tenableness noun • tenably adverb

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. 1 that can be maintained or defended against attack or objection (a tenable position; a tenable theory). 2 (foll. by for, by) (of an office etc.) that can be held for (a specified period) or by (a specified class of person). Derivatives: tenability n. tenableness n. Etymology: F f. tenir hold f. L tenere

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Tenable Ten"a*ble, a. [F. tenable, fr. tenir to hold, L. tenere. See Thin, and cf. Continue, Continent, Entertain, Maintain, Tenant, Tent.] Capable of being held, naintained, or defended, as against an assailant or objector, or againts attempts to take or process; as, a tenable fortress, a tenable argument. If you have hitherto concealed his sight, Let it be tenable in your silence still. --Shak. I would be the last man in the world to give up his cause when it was tenable. --Sir W. Scott.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

If you say that an argument, point of view, or situation is tenable, you believe that it is reasonable and could be successfully defended against criticism. This argument is simply not tenable... ? untenable ADJ

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. Defensible, maintainable, capable of being held or defended.

Moby Thesaurus

OK, acceptable, admissible, agreeable, all right, alright, arguable, believable, colorable, conceivable, condonable, credible, creditable, defendable, defensible, excusable, fiduciary, good enough, imaginable, impregnable, justifiable, maintainable, okay, passable, plausible, possible, rational, reasonable, reliable, secure, supportable, trustworthy, trusty, unexceptionable, unimpeachable, unobjectionable, unquestionable, viable, vindicable, warrantable, workable, worthy of faith