pertinacious

[pur-tn-ey-shuhs]

adjective

1. holding tenaciously to a purpose, course of action, or opinion; resolute.

   Synonyms: persevering

2. stubborn or obstinate.

   Synonyms: dogged

3. extremely or objectionably persistent.

   a pertinacious salesman from whom I could not escape.

pertinacious

/ ˌpɜːtɪˈnæsɪtɪ, ˌpɜːtɪˈneɪʃəs /

adjective

1. doggedly resolute in purpose or belief; unyielding

2. stubbornly persistent

Other Word Forms

• pertinaciously adverb
• pertinaciousness noun
• pertinacity noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of pertinacious¹

First recorded in 1620–30; pertinaci(ty) + -ous

Word History and Origins

Origin of pertinacious¹

C17: from Latin pertināx, from per- (intensive) + tenāx clinging, from tenēre to hold

Example Sentences

It proved to be an extreme endurance test, and so it figures that James, the pertinacious King of the league, would carry the Los Angeles Lakers past all of the obstacles.

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Despite this, the pertinacious ranger does possess the precious commodity of self-knowledge.

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They are anything but a phlegmatic people, yet they are obdurate, they are pertinacious, they finish plastering joints.

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Second, we are an ingenious, resourceful and pertinacious species.

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The pertinacious meme that we would somehow benefit from eating more saturated fat, and thus its principal sources – meat, butter, cheese – is a product of misinterpretations of sequential answers to a series of dubious questions.

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