tenacious

C2 Topic:Describing People

US /təˈneɪʃəs/ See IPA manual

Freq #23321

Meanings

1

adj
Determined and refusing to give up.

She was a tenacious negotiator who never accepted the first offer.
2

adj
Holding firmly to something; not easily let go.

The vine had a tenacious grip on the old stone wall.
3

adj
Very good at remembering things.

He has a tenacious memory for names and faces.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · determined and refusing to... dogged dour persistent pertinacious unyielding

2 adj · holding firmly to... clingsomecoherent

3 adj · very good at remembering... long

More adhesive cohesive memorious obstinate steadfast sticky

Word family

Related forms tenaciously tenaciousness tenacity

Common collocations

tenacious memory Adjective + noun

Etymology

From Latin tenāx (“holding fast, clinging”), from tenēre (“to hold”), + -ious.

*ten- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing People Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# tenacious

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /təˈneɪʃəs/
**Frequency rank:** 23321

## Meanings
1. Determined and refusing to give up.
2. Holding firmly to something; not easily let go.
3. Very good at remembering things.

## Examples
- She was a tenacious negotiator who never accepted the first offer.
- The vine had a tenacious grip on the old stone wall.
- He has a tenacious memory for names and faces.

## Synonyms
- adhesive
- cohesive
- memorious
- obstinate
- steadfast
- sticky

## Related Forms
- tenaciously
- tenaciousness
- tenacity

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *ten-

## Etymology
From Latin tenāx (“holding fast, clinging”), from tenēre (“to hold”), + -ious.

## AI Etymology
Tenacious is from Latin tenāx (“holding fast, clinging”), from tenēre (“to hold”), + -ious. In present-day use, it can mean determined and refusing to give up, or holding firmly to something; not easily let go. Related vocabulary includes tenaciously, tenaciousness, and tenacity.

## Topics
- Describing People
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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