courage implies firmness of mind and will in the face of danger or extreme difficulty.
the courage to support unpopular causes
mettle suggests an ingrained capacity for meeting strain or difficulty with fortitude and resilience.
a challenge that will test your mettle
spirit also suggests a quality of temperament enabling one to hold one's own or keep up one's morale when opposed or threatened.
her spirit was unbroken by failure
resolution stresses firm determination to achieve one's ends.
the resolution of pioneer women
tenacity adds to resolution implications of stubborn persistence and unwillingness to admit defeat.
held to their beliefs with great tenacity
Examples of tenacity in a Sentence
If there is a particular tenacity in Islamist forms of terrorism today, this is a product not of Islamic scripture but of the current historical circumstance that many Muslims live in places of intense political conflict.—Max Rodenbeck, New York Book Review, 30 Nov. 2006… everything about a person, even the most blameless of facts, can have the sticky tenacity of a secret.—Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2002A tribute to tenacity, the free ascent of Trango Tower was the fulfillment of a cowboy climber's dream.—Todd Skinner, National Geographic, April 1996
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The dunes are pretty impressive at 110 feet tall—give or take a little, depending on the airflow—but one woman’s tenacity kept them from being razed.—Jennifer Prince, Southern Living, 30 May 2025 While many have praised the tenacity of the 28-year-old Georgia woman, others have expressed doubts about the veracity of her shocking survival story and have criticized her family’s fundraising motives.—Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2025 Lexington brought tenacity, composure and high-level play from the opening serve, trading thunderous kills, eye-opening defense, and long rallies throughout in front of a rowdy crowd fit for state tournament game.—Tom Mulherin, Boston Herald, 20 May 2025 His Chicago roots imply tenacity, strength and fearlessness.—Chicago Tribune Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 10 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for tenacity
Word History
Etymology
Middle English tenacite, borrowed from Middle French tenacité, borrowed from Latin tenācitāt-, tenācitās, from tenāc-, tenāx "holding fast, tenacious" + -itāt- -itās-ity
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