Word of the Day

: November 30, 2008

tenacious

adjective tuh-NAY-shus

What It Means

1 a : not easily pulled apart : cohesive

b : tending to adhere or cling especially to another substance

2 a : persistent in maintaining, adhering to, or seeking something valued or desired

b : retaining knowledge easily

tenacious in Context

Eugene's tenacious auditioning finally paid off when he landed the part of Romeo in the upcoming Shakespeare festival.

Did You Know?

For all of its nearly 400 years, "tenacious" has adhered closely to its Latin antecedent: "tenax," an adjective meaning "tending to hold fast." Almost from the first, "tenacious" could suggest either literal adhesion or figurative stick-to-itiveness. Sticker burrs are tenacious, and so are athletes who don't let defeat get them down. We use "tenacious" of a good memory, too -- one that has a better than average capacity to hold information. But you can also have too much of a good thing. The addition in Latin of the prefix "per-" ("thoroughly") to "tenax" led to the English word "pertinacious," meaning "perversely persistent." You might use "pertinacious" for the likes of rumors and telemarketers, for example.