pertinacity

C2+ Topic:Describing People

US /ˌpɜrtɪˈnæsɪti/ UK /ˌpɜːtɪˈnæsɪti/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
stubborn persistence or determination

She pursued the case with a pertinacity that wore down her opponents.

Thesaurus

Etymology

From Middle French pertinacite, from Latin pertinax ('holding fast, tenacious'), from per- ('thoroughly') + tenax ('holding fast'), from tenere ('to hold').

pertinax Latin tenere Latin *ten- Proto-Indo-European

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Describing People Word Formation & Derivatives

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# pertinacity

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˌpɜrtɪˈnæsɪti/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌpɜːtɪˈnæsɪti/

## Meanings
1. stubborn persistence or determination

## Examples
- She pursued the case with a pertinacity that wore down her opponents.

## Synonyms
- tenacity
- persistence
- doggedness
- obstinacy
- stubbornness
- determination
- resolve
- perseverance

## Antonyms
- irresolution
- flexibility
- yieldingness

## Related Forms
- pertinacious
- tenacious
- tenacity

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: pertinax
- Root: tenere
- Root: *ten-

## Etymology
From Middle French pertinacite, from Latin pertinax ('holding fast, tenacious'), from per- ('thoroughly') + tenax ('holding fast'), from tenere ('to hold').

## AI Etymology
Pertinacity is from Middle French pertinacite, from Latin pertinax ('holding fast, tenacious'), from per- ('thoroughly') + tenax ('holding fast'), from tenere ('to hold'). Important recorded forms include pertinax (Latin), tenere (Latin), and *ten- (Proto-Indo-European). Morphologically, the word preserves a built structure whose named elements carry the historical sense into English. The modern sense remains close to that composition, with the parts narrowing into a single lexical item. In current use it covers stubborn persistence or determination. The wider family includes related words such as pertinacious, tenacious, and tenacity.

## Topics
- Describing People
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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pertinacity

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