tenable

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“
Therefore the wine theory is not tenable, my friend. '

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Definitions (6)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. adjective Capable of being maintained in argument; rationally defensible: a tenable theory.
  2. adjective Capable of being held against assault; defensible: a tenable outpost.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (2)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (1)

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Examples (50)

  • Use our technology to make the cave system comfortable, tenable, and totally safe from Thread Emily did not even pause to take a breath. —  Dragons Dawn
  • He describes the hypothesis of vortices and the doctrine of innate ideas as no longer tenable, and even as ridiculous; but do not let us forget, he says with a fine movement of candour, that it was Descartes who opened the way; he who set an example to men of intelligence, of shaking off the yoke of scholasticism, of opinion, of authority—in a word, of prejudices and barbarism. —  Diderot and the Encyclopaedists (Vol 1 of 2)
  • Attorney investigation generally does not appear to be a tenable or viable distinction. —  Consortiumnews.com
  • I don't see an outright ban on all guns as tenable, or even correct. —  Original Signal - Transmitting Digg
  • Though using real stop-motion clay figures wasn't tenable, the designers did the next best thing by detailing the individuals so carefully they could fool the casual observer. —  AdventureGamers.com
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

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Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. French, from Old French, from tenir, to hold, from Latin tenēre; see ten- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from French tenable, from tenir = Provencal tener, tenir = Spanish tener = Portuguese ter = Italian tenere, hold, keep, from Latin tenere, hold, keep: see tenant.
 

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/ˈtɛnəbl/
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