adj · 4 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.
General-American, UK:/ˈtɛn.ə.bəl/
General-American, UK:[ˈtɛn.ə.bl̩]
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
Australian:/ˈten.ə.bəl/
Australian:[ˈten.ə.bl̩]
rhymes with -ɛnəbəl
CMU ARPABET:T EH1 N AH0 B AH0 L
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
adj
Meaning 1
capable of being maintained or justified; well-founded
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: usually
Qualifier: argument
Examples
Back in the 1800s, many did not consider Darwin's theory of evolution to be tenable at all.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
adj
Meaning 2
Capable of being defended against assault or attack; defensible
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: government, military, politics, war
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
adj
Meaning 3
Fit for habitation, similar, or related use.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
adjective satellite
Meaning 4
based on sound reasoning or evidence
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
well-founded suspicions
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: well-founded
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
From the French tenable, from tenir (“to hold”); compare tenible.
Across languages
Translations
23 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Bulgarian:
защитим
(zaštitim)
— of a theory, argument etc: capable of being maintained or justified; well-founded
Czech:
udržitelný
— of a theory, argument etc: capable of being maintained or justified; well-founded
Czech:
obhajitelný
— of a theory, argument etc: capable of being maintained or justified; well-founded
Danish:
holdbar
— of a theory, argument etc: capable of being maintained or justified; well-founded
Dutch:
houdbaar
— of a theory, argument etc: capable of being maintained or justified; well-founded
Finnish:
uskottava
— of a theory, argument etc: capable of being maintained or justified; well-founded
Finnish:
kestävä
— of a theory, argument etc: capable of being maintained or justified; well-founded
Finnish:
pätevä
— of a theory, argument etc: capable of being maintained or justified; well-founded
Finnish:
perusteltava
— of a theory, argument etc: capable of being maintained or justified; well-founded
German:
haltbar
— of a theory, argument etc: capable of being maintained or justified; well-founded
Norwegian Bokmål:
holdbar
— of a theory, argument etc: capable of being maintained or justified; well-founded
Norwegian Nynorsk:
haldbar
— of a theory, argument etc: capable of being maintained or justified; well-founded
Russian:
разу́мный
(razúmnyj)
— of a theory, argument etc: capable of being maintained or justified; well-founded
Spanish:
sostenible
— of a theory, argument etc: capable of being maintained or justified; well-founded
Swedish:
hållbar
— of a theory, argument etc: capable of being maintained or justified; well-founded
Bulgarian:
удържим
(udǎržim)
— of a defensive structure: capable of being defended
Bulgarian:
устойчив
(ustojčiv)
— of a defensive structure: capable of being defended
Czech:
udržitelný
— of a defensive structure: capable of being defended
Finnish:
kestävä
— of a defensive structure: capable of being defended
Finnish:
puolustettava
— of a defensive structure: capable of being defended
German:
verteidigungsfähig
— of a defensive structure: capable of being defended
Spanish:
defendible
— of a defensive structure: capable of being defended
Turkish:
savunulabilir
— of a defensive structure: capable of being defended
