adj · 6 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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/ˈtɛn.ju.əs/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -ɛnjuəs
homophone: tenuis (when "tenuous" includes /j/ and its unstressed /ɪ/ = [ə])
CMU ARPABET:T EH1 N Y AH0 W AH0 S
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
adj
Meaning 1
Thin in substance or consistency.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
The aether was thought to be of tenuous strands.
Far from being amicable, the numbers seemed to turn their backs on each other, and I couldn't find a pair with even the most tenuous connection.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
His argument was not convincing in the debate, considering how tenuous it was.
July 18 2012, Scott Tobias, AV Club The Dark Knight Riseshttp://www.avclub.com/articles/the-dark-knight-rises-review-batman,82624/ Picking up eight years after The Dark Knight left off, the film finds Gotham enjoying a tenuous peace based on Harvey Dent’s moral ideals rather than the ugly truth of his demise.
