Adjacent Words

Tenacious definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

TENA'CIOUS, a. [L. tenax, from teneo, to hold.]
1. Holding fast, or inclined to hold fast; inclined to retain what is in possession; as men tenacious of their just rights. Men are usually tenacious of their opinions, as well as of their property.
2. Retentive; apt to retain long what is committed to it; as a tenacious memory.
3. Adhesive; apt to adhere to another substance; as oily, glutinous or viscous matter. Few substances are to tenacious as tar.
4. Niggardly; close fisted.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: good at remembering; "a retentive mind"; "tenacious memory" [syn: retentive, recollective, long, tenacious] [ant: forgetful, short, unretentive]
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, dour, persistent, pertinacious, tenacious, unyielding]
3: sticking together; "two coherent sheets"; "tenacious burrs" [syn: coherent, tenacious]

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: Latin tenac-, tenax tending to hold fast, from ten?re to hold Date: 1607 1. a. not easily pulled apart ; cohesive <a tenacious metal> b. tending to adhere or cling especially to another substance <tenacious burs> 2. a. persistent in maintaining, adhering to, or seeking something valued or desired <a tenacious advocate of civil rights> <tenacious negotiators> b. retentive <a tenacious memory> Synonyms: see strong • tenaciously adverb • tenaciousness noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. 1 (often foll. by of) keeping a firm hold of property, principles, life, etc.; not readily relinquishing. 2 (of memory) retentive. 3 holding fast. 4 strongly cohesive. 5 persistent, resolute. 6 adhesive, sticky. Derivatives: tenaciously adv. tenaciousness n. tenacity n. Etymology: L tenax -acis f. tenere hold

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. If you are tenacious, you are very determined and do not give up easily. He is regarded at the BBC as a tenacious and persistent interviewer. ADJ • tenaciously In spite of his illness, he clung tenaciously to his job. ADV: usu ADV after v 2. If you describe something such as an idea or belief as tenacious, you mean that it has a strong influence on people and is difficult to change or remove. ...a remarkably tenacious belief that was to dominate future theories of military strategy. = deep-seated ADJ

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Retentive, apt to retain. 2. Adhesive, sticky, glutinous, viscous, cohesive, smeary, dauby, clinging. 3. Stubborn, obstinate, pertinacious, opinionated, opinionative, positive.

Moby Thesaurus

adamant, adherent, adhesive, amylaceous, assiduous, balking, balky, bigoted, bound, bound and determined, bulldogged, bulldoggish, bulldoggy, bulletheaded, bullheaded, cartilaginous, case-hardened, chewy, clabbered, clammy, clinging, clingy, clotted, coagulated, cohesive, committed, constant, continuing, coriaceous, curdled, decided, decisive, dedicated, definite, determined, devoted, diligent, dogged, dogmatic, doughy, durable, earnest, enduring, faithful, fanatic, fibrous, firm, fixed, game, gamy, gaumy, gelatinous, glairy, gluelike, gluey, glutenous, glutinose, glutinous, good, gooey, grasping, gripping, gristly, gritty, grumous, gumbo, gumbolike, gumlike, gummous, gummy, gutsy, gutty, hard, hardheaded, hardy, headstrong, heavy, holding, immovable, immutable, inalterable, indefatigable, indomitable, industrious, inflexible, insistent, inspissated, intolerant, intransigent, invincible, jelled, jellied, jellylike, keeping, lasting, leatherlike, leathery, loyal, maintaining, mettlesome, mucilaginous, mulish, nervy, never-tiring, obdurate, obstinate, opinionated, overzealous, pasty, patient, patient as Job, permanent, perseverant, persevering, persistent, persisting, pertinacious, pigheaded, plodding, plucky, plugging, preoccupied, purposeful, rapt, red-blooded, refractory, relentless, resistant, resolute, resolved, restive, retaining, retentive, rigid, ropy, secure, sedulous, self-adhesive, self-willed, serious, set, sincere, sinewy, single-minded, slabby, sleepless, slimy, slithery, slogging, spirited, spiritful, spunky, stable, stalwart, starchy, staunch, steadfast, steady, stickable, sticky, stiff, stiff-necked, stodgy, stout, stringy, strong, strong-minded, strong-willed, strongheaded, stubborn, sturdy, sulky, sullen, syrupy, tacky, thick, thickened, tight, tireless, tough, tough as leather, tremelloid, tremellose, true, unabating, uncompromising, unconquerable, uncooperative, undaunted, undiscouraged, undrooping, unfailing, unfaltering, unflagging, unflinching, unintermitting, uninterrupted, unnodding, unregenerate, unrelaxing, unrelenting, unremitting, unshakable, unshakeable, unshaken, unsleeping, unswerving, untiring, unwavering, unwearied, unwearying, unwinking, unyielding, utterly attentive, vigorous, viscid, viscose, viscous, weariless, wholehearted, willful, wiry