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

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

tenacious memory
an ability to retain information or experiences for a long time

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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