Standard Lemma guide

pertinacious

adj · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /ˌpɜːtɪˈneɪʃəs/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: pûr-tn-ā'shəs
  • US: /pɝtn̩ˈeɪʃəs/
  • rhymes with -eɪʃəs

1

adj

Meaning 1

Holding tenaciously to an opinion or purpose.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Stubbornly resolute or tenacious.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective satellite

Meaning 3

stubbornly unyielding- T.S.Eliot

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • dogged persistence
  • dour determination
  • the most vocal and pertinacious of all the critics
  • a mind not gifted to discover truth but tenacious to hold it
  • men tenacious of opinion

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: dogged, dour, persistent, tenacious, unyielding

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From pertinace + -ious, from Old French pertinace, from Latin pertinax, from per- (“very”) + tenax (“tenacious”).

Across languages

Translations

20 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: неотстъпчив (neotstǎpčiv) — holding tenaciously to an opinion or purpose
  • Catalan: pertinaç — holding tenaciously to an opinion or purpose
  • Dutch: vast overtuigd — holding tenaciously to an opinion or purpose
  • French: obstiné — holding tenaciously to an opinion or purpose
  • Greek: ισχυρογνώμων (ischyrognómon) — holding tenaciously to an opinion or purpose
  • Māori: tohetohe — holding tenaciously to an opinion or purpose
  • Polish: niezachwiany — holding tenaciously to an opinion or purpose
  • Spanish: firme convicción — holding tenaciously to an opinion or purpose
  • Ottoman Turkish: یاپشقان (yapışkan) — holding tenaciously to an opinion or purpose
  • Ukrainian: непоступливий (nepostuplyvyj) — holding tenaciously to an opinion or purpose
  • Bulgarian: упорит (uporit) — stubbornly resolute or tenacious
  • Dutch: vasthoudend — stubbornly resolute or tenacious
  • French: tenace — stubbornly resolute or tenacious
  • German: durchhaltend — stubbornly resolute or tenacious
  • German: hartnäckig — stubbornly resolute or tenacious
  • Māori: tohetohe — stubbornly resolute or tenacious
  • Māori: whakatohe — stubbornly resolute or tenacious
  • Spanish: pertinaz — stubbornly resolute or tenacious
  • Ottoman Turkish: یاپشقان (yapışkan) — stubbornly resolute or tenacious
  • Ukrainian: впертий (vpertyj) — stubbornly resolute or tenacious