tenacious
1
6.3
- adjective
- /təˈneɪʃəs/
:
adherente
- Her tenacious pursuit of her goals inspired everyone around her.
- a tenacious grip
- a tenacious bush
- a tenacious plant
Examples
-
The climber's tenacious grip on the rock face prevented him from falling.
-
And the molecular solid formed by those molecules is a tenacious insulator.
Academic text (1998) -
Miami or Louisville, well, Louisville plays some Rick Pitino had them, but they play some real tenacious defense.
-
He had not reckoned with the tenacious grip that British colonial influence exerted upon the psychology of his countrymen.
Academic text (2000) -
At other times, I was delayed by mazes of tenacious thorn bushes aptly named wait-a-bit.
Academic text (1996) -
And in Alamo Heights, a collection of native plants befitting a botanical garden thrives where bamboo and ligustrums once put down tenacious roots.
Blog text (1) -
The adhesive was tenacious, ensuring the paper stuck firmly to the wall.
Synonyms
126
1.0
Covered with a substance that keeps it on other things
4
7.2
Parts that stick together and form one whole
3
3.5
Sticking to a surface so it stays in place
1
6.6
Sticks firmly to a surface
Having a wet, glue like feel that makes things stay on it
Antonyms
How Sticky
Surface Forms
Morphology
tenacious = tenacity (transparent) = tenac + ous
The adhesive or clinging sense directly reflects 'holding firmly', which is the core meaning of the base 'tenacity'.
Etymology
Tenacious comes from the Latin root tenere meaning 'to hold', like in the word tenant who 'holds' a home. That's why a tenacious glue or weed 'holds on' and sticks very firmly.