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tenable

ten·a·ble
T t

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • UK Pronunciation
    • UK IPA
    • [ten-uh-buh l]
    • /ˈtɛn ə bəl/
    • /ˈten.ə.bl̩/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [ten-uh-buh l]
    • /ˈtɛn ə bəl/

Definitions of tenable word

  • adjective tenable capable of being held, maintained, or defended, as against attack or dispute: a tenable theory. 1
  • adjective tenable capable of being occupied, possessed, held, or enjoyed, as under certain conditions: a research grant tenable for two years. 1
  • adjective tenable that can be maintained 1
  • adjective tenable If you say that an argument, point of view, or situation is tenable, you believe that it is reasonable and could be successfully defended against criticism. 0
  • adjective tenable able to be upheld, believed, maintained, or defended 0
  • adjective tenable that can be held, defended, or maintained 0

Information block about the term

Origin of tenable

First appearance:

before 1570
One of the 33% oldest English words
1570-80; < French: that can be held, equivalent to ten(ir) to hold (≪ Latin tenēre) + -able -able

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Tenable

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation

tenable popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 80% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
This word is included in each student's vocabulary. Most likely there is at least one movie with this word in the title.

tenable usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for tenable

adj tenable

  • all there — having his or her wits about him or her; of normal intelligence
  • cognitive — Cognitive means relating to the mental process involved in knowing, learning, and understanding things.
  • condonable — to disregard or overlook (something illegal, objectionable, or the like): The government condoned the computer hacking among rival corporations.
  • defensible — An opinion, system, or action that is defensible is one that people can argue is right or good.
  • honest to god — real or genuine.

adjective tenable

  • arguable — If you say that it is arguable that something is true, you believe that it can be supported by evidence and that many people would agree with it.
  • assertable — having the ability to be affirmed or professed or deserving of affirmation
  • defendable — Capable of being defended.
  • exculpatory — Excusing or clearing of any wrongdoing.
  • excusable — Able to be justified or forgiven; forgivable.

Antonyms for tenable

adj tenable

  • blue sky — fanciful; impractical: blue-sky ideas.
  • cockamamie — If you describe something as cockamamie, you mean that it is ridiculous or silly.
  • counterintuitive — (of an idea, proposal, etc) seemingly contrary to common sense
  • derisory — If you describe something such as an amount of money as derisory, you are emphasizing that it is so small or inadequate that it seems silly or not worth considering.
  • for the birds — any warm-blooded vertebrate of the class Aves, having a body covered with feathers, forelimbs modified into wings, scaly legs, a beak, and no teeth, and bearing young in a hard-shelled egg.

adjective tenable

  • gelastic — Pertaining to laughter, used in laughing, or to be the subject of laughter.
  • inapprehensible — That cannot be apprehended; not apprehensible to or graspable by either body or mind.
  • inexecutable — That cannot be executed or carried out.
  • insupposable — Incapable of being supposed; inconceivable.
  • nonfunctional — Not having any particular purpose or function.

Top questions with tenable

  • what does tenable mean?
  • what is the meaning of tenable?
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See also

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