Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Capable of being maintained in argument; rationally defensible: a tenable theory.
- adj. Capable of being held against assault; defensible: a tenable outpost.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Capable of being held, maintained, or defended successfully against an assailant; successfully defensible against attacks or arguments or objections: as, a tenable fortress; a tenable theory.
- Held; retained; kept secret or inviolate.
Wiktionary
- adj. capable of being maintained or justified; well-founded
- adj. of a defensive structure capable of being defended against assault or attack; defensible
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Capable of being held, maintained, or defended, as against an assailant or objector, or against attempts to take or process.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. based on sound reasoning or evidence
Etymologies
- From the French tenable, from tenir ("to hold"); compare tenible. (Wiktionary)
- French, from Old French, from tenir, to hold, from Latin tenēre; see ten- in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“What seems no longer tenable is the romantic, idealized idea of fatherhood once associated with “The Godfather,” where the passionate mutual devotion of fathers and sons seemed completely of a piece with the relentless pursuit of power and destruction of the enemy.”
“Is the idea tenable that the Creator has no comprehension of what is manifested in creation?”
“Still less is the notion tenable of any special improbability applying to this particular pretension.”
“In which case, all I know is to state and establish the 'tenable' group's place ( 'tenets') and attract whoever comes to stand on it.”
“The majority says that the equal protection argument is "tenable", if that counts as an endorsement, then there are 6 votes for treating gay people as entitled to equal protection under the Constitution.”
“It was, indeed, not considered, to use a technical word, "tenable," and there was no rent to pay for living in it.”
“Describing Chinese currency policy as not "tenable" and saying the country was now "too large" to base growth on exports, Geithner said reform was in both countries' interests.”
“The "no-strings-attached" fellowship, awarded to undergraduate and first-year graduate students studying engineering or the applied sciences, can be used to fund graduate study at one of roughly 50 schools deemed "tenable" by the Hertz Foundation.”
“Alternatively, a charge could be issued for downloading files from the likes of iTunes, but insiders say it is not politically 'tenable', since it would mean a direct hit on consumers pockets.”
“Others suggested that the Congress had so far considered Nitish as its only prospective and "tenable" ally - the Biju Janata Dal, the ADMK and the Bahujan Samaj Party were not on its radar as of today.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘tenable’.
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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GRE 2014
abate, abdicate, abase, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abjure, abortive, abound, abrasive, abreast, abridge and 1577 more...
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G...R...E
gross.
sybarite, restiveness, churl, nepotism, jingoism, pusillanimous, gaffe, incisive, enervate, bucolic, concomitant, abeyance and 158 more...
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Reading Vocab
ulterior, warrant, syllogism, precious, impiety, maroon, aigrette, batiste, topsy-turvy ago, midnight crush, cantankerous, slovenly and 180 more...
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Whether 'Tis Nobler: Words From Hamlet
nay, 'tis, thee, haste, ho, liegemen, o, hath, holla, entreated, apparition, tush and 104 more...
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ADW1
obdurate, obstinate, behest, injunction, enjoin, circumspect, ensconce, discursive, lugubrious, doleful, somber, ken and 2476 more...
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SAT
ossified, bombastic, visceral, ostentacious, jingoism, capricious, equivocate, supercilious, aspersion, viable, pugnacious, indigence and 31 more...
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Vocab++
Words as I learn them.
fetid, mezzanine, hiatus, austerity, subliminal, resplendent, implacable, impugn, debase, exiguous, cirque, holster and 2538 more...
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annscann's list
My words, generally
bavarois, bawbee, bawd, bawdry, libertine, russophobe, rubicund, gossamer, persnickety, claptrap, gesticulate, schadenfreudian and 199 more...
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GPaX. Words.
excogitate, clarity, obscurity, tangential, interesting, regurgitate, mycelium, degradation, unladen, swallow, klein, quote and 120 more...
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Resource
katabatic, clerestory, haslet, alpenglow, purl, scumble, jessant, spavined, wayworn, creach, dottle, solferino and 165 more...
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pword
vexatious, verdigris, variegated, wellspring, vituperate, virtuostic, tribulation, transcedental, seupervening, sedulity, reproach, refulgent and 347 more...
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Verbal Advantage List
ostensible, paraphrase, digress, uncanny, candor, morose, adept, saturated, pragmatic, congenial, capricious, blatant and 487 more...
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5-0
Hecko, words! I’m so happy I’ve found you. I want to keep you all and never want to lose you again. I hope you like it here.
amscray, thistledown, tine, tinsel, pungent, snarl, wail, lanky, viscid, dawdle, luminous, stow and 2719 more...
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Sat Vocabulary List
abandon, abash, abate, abjure, ablution, abnegate, abominable, aboriginal, abortive, abrade, abridge, abrogate and 2155 more...
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conglomeration
wherewithal, wan, zoonotic, zoonosis, nebulous, nefarious, nascent, quiescent, quell, undercroft, unwitting, unutterable and 658 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for tenable.
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