Standard Lemma guide

pertinacity

noun · 2 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

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1

noun

Meaning 1

The state or characteristic of being pertinacious.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

Examples

  • 1846, Edgar Allen Poe, The Black Cat With my aversion to this cat, however, its partiality for myself seemed to increase. It followed my footsteps with a pertinacity which it would be difficult to make the reader comprehend.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

persistent determination

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: doggedness, perseverance, persistence, persistency, tenacity, tenaciousness

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: determination, purpose

History

Etymology

From Middle French pertinacité, from Old French pertinace (“obstinate, stubborn”).

Across languages

Translations

13 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: упоритост (uporitost) — state of being pertinacious
  • Bulgarian: неотстъпчивост (neotstǎpčivost) — state of being pertinacious
  • Catalan: pertinàcia — state of being pertinacious
  • Catalan: pertinacitat — state of being pertinacious
  • French: ténacité — state of being pertinacious
  • French: pertinacité — state of being pertinacious
  • Galician: teimosía — state of being pertinacious
  • Portuguese: teimosia — state of being pertinacious
  • Portuguese: pertinácia — state of being pertinacious
  • Russian: неусту́пчивость (neustúpčivostʹ) — state of being pertinacious
  • Russian: упря́мство (uprjámstvo) — state of being pertinacious
  • Ukrainian: непоступливість (nepostuplyvistʹ) — state of being pertinacious
  • Ukrainian: впертість (vpertistʹ) — state of being pertinacious