tenable

[ten-uh-buhl]

See more synonyms for tenable on Thesaurus.com

adjective

capable of being held, maintained, or defended, as against attack or dispute: a tenable theory.
capable of being occupied, possessed, held, or enjoyed, as under certain conditions: a research grant tenable for two years.

Origin of tenable

1570–80; < French: that can be held, equivalent to ten(ir) to hold (≪ Latin tenēre) + -able -able

Related formsten·a·bil·i·ty, ten·a·ble·ness, nounten·a·bly, adverbnon·ten·a·bil·i·ty, nounnon·ten·a·ble, adjectivenon·ten·a·ble·ness, nounnon·ten·a·bly, adverb

Synonyms for tenable

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1. workable, viable, maintainable, warrantable.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for tenable

plausible, defensible, justifiable, arguable, rational, believable, credible, excusable, impregnable, reliable, secure, sound, strong, trustworthy, viable, condonable, maintainable, vindicable, warrantable

Examples from the Web for tenable

Contemporary Examples of tenable

Employee dumping is when employers find it tenable to pay the per-employee penalty for not providing health insurance.
Five Things You Need to Know About the Health-Care Exchange Rollout
William O’Connor
October 1, 2013
That does not mean it is practical, advisable, tenable, moral or that it should be perpetual.
Seeking A Realistic Mature Discussion About "Settlements"
Gil Troy
February 7, 2013
On the other hand, an exclusive focus on satisfaction is not tenable either.
Daniel Kahneman Talks Intuition and Optimism With Sam Harris
Sam Harris
November 30, 2011

Historical Examples of tenable

I do not think a single objection which is made to woman suffrage is tenable.
The History of Woman Suffrage, Volume IV
Various
But this view, if tenable then, has long since been abandoned.
Albert Gallatin
John Austin Stevens
Truly, it is tenable that the world exists only in consciousness.
The Mutiny of the Elsinore
Jack London
The reader must judge whether this position is tenable or not.
Thoughts on Missions
Sheldon Dibble
It had been for some time seen that the town of Portsmouth was not a tenable post.
Hurricane Hurry
W.H.G. Kingston

British Dictionary definitions for tenable

tenable

adjective

able to be upheld, believed, maintained, or defended

Derived Formstenability or tenableness, nountenably, adverb

Word Origin for tenable

C16: from Old French, from tenir to hold, from Latin tenēre

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for tenable

adj.

1570s, from Middle French tenable, from Old French (12c.), from tenir "to hold," from Latin tenere "hold, keep" (see tenet).