Standard Lemma guide

tenaciousness

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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  • /təˈneɪʃəsnəs/

1

noun

Meaning 1

The characteristic of being tenacious; tenacity.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

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, pertinacity

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: determination, purpose

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English tenacious Proto-Germanic *-inōną Proto-Indo-European *-dyé- Proto-Germanic *-atjaną Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Germanic *-þuz Proto-Germanic *-assuz Proto-Germanic *-inassuz Proto-West Germanic *-nassī Old English -nes Middle English -nesse English -ness English tenaciousness From tenacious + -ness.

Across languages

Translations

35 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: издръжливост (izdrǎžlivost) — quality or state of being tenacious
  • Catalan: tenacitat — quality or state of being tenacious
  • Chinese Mandarin: 韧性 (rènxìng) — quality or state of being tenacious
  • Czech: houževnatost — quality or state of being tenacious
  • Czech: neústupnost — quality or state of being tenacious
  • Czech: výdrž — quality or state of being tenacious
  • Dutch: volhardendheid — quality or state of being tenacious
  • Finnish: sitkeys — quality or state of being tenacious
  • Finnish: sinnikkyys — quality or state of being tenacious
  • French: ténacité — quality or state of being tenacious
  • German: Zähigkeit — quality or state of being tenacious
  • German: Beharrlichkeit — quality or state of being tenacious
  • Greek: επιμονή (epimoní) — quality or state of being tenacious
  • Indonesian: keuletan — quality or state of being tenacious
  • Indonesian: kegigihan — quality or state of being tenacious
  • Irish: diongbháilteacht — quality or state of being tenacious
  • Italian: tenacia — quality or state of being tenacious
  • Latin: tenācitās — quality or state of being tenacious
  • Polish: upartość — quality or state of being tenacious
  • Polish: wytrwałość — quality or state of being tenacious
  • Polish: zawziętość — quality or state of being tenacious
  • Portuguese: tenacidade — quality or state of being tenacious
  • Romanian: tenacitate — quality or state of being tenacious
  • Russian: це́пкость (cépkostʹ) — quality or state of being tenacious
  • Russian: упо́рство (upórstvo) — quality or state of being tenacious
  • Russian: вы́держка (výderžka) — quality or state of being tenacious
  • Spanish: tenacidad — quality or state of being tenacious
  • Spanish: tesón — quality or state of being tenacious
  • Tagalog: matibay — quality or state of being tenacious
  • Ukrainian: завзятість (zavzjatistʹ) — quality or state of being tenacious
  • Ukrainian: упертість (upertistʹ) — quality or state of being tenacious
  • Ukrainian: стійкість (stijkistʹ) — quality or state of being tenacious
  • Ukrainian: наполегливість (napolehlyvistʹ) — quality or state of being tenacious
  • Ukrainian: цілеспрямованість (cilesprjamovanistʹ) — quality or state of being tenacious
  • Uzbek: qaysarlik — quality or state of being tenacious