tenable

[ ten-uh-buhl ]

/ ˈtɛn ə bəl /

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See synonyms for: tenable / tenability 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.

OTHER WORDS FOR tenable

1 workable, viable, maintainable, warrantable.

See synonyms for tenable on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

SHALL WE PLAY A "SHALL" VS. "SHOULD" CHALLENGE?

Should you take this quiz on “shall” versus “should”? It should prove to be a quick challenge!

Question 1 of 6

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shall

should

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Origin of tenable

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

OTHER WORDS FROM tenable

ten·a·bil·i·ty, ten·a·ble·ness, nounten·a·bly, adverbnon·ten·a·bil·i·ty, nounnon·ten·a·ble, adjective

non·ten·a·ble·ness, nounnon·ten·a·bly, adverb

Words nearby tenable

tempus edax rerum, tempus fugit, Tempyō, Temuco, ten, tenable, tenace, tenacious, tenaciously, tenacity, ten-acre block

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use tenable in a sentence

It’s no longer tenable for companies like ExxonMobil to defy calls to align their businesses with decarbonizing the economy.
A bad day for Big Oil|Steven Mufson|May 27, 2021|Washington Post
I believe that in this case, the claim that these videos and photographs violate the dignity of the dead is neither morally tenable nor historically accurate.
Why the world must witness pictures of India’s mass Covid-19 cremations|Kamayani Sharma|May 21, 2021|Vox
It was so expansive that once it came time for me to be serious and accept a certain type of isolation, I didn’t want to accept it, but it was tenable.
Let’s Talk About Wynton Marsalis|Eugene Robinson|May 18, 2021|Ozy
The time may be approaching when that clever maneuver is no longer tenable.
Outcry over book ‘censorship’ reveals how online retailers choose books — or don’t|Ron Charles|April 22, 2021|Washington Post

The shift has happened so suddenly and seismically that, to many people, the alternative no longer even appears tenable.
There is no such thing as ‘apolitical culture’|rhhackettfortune|September 30, 2020|Fortune
They severed the last railroad lifeline into Atlanta, making the Citadel of the Confederacy as it was touted no longer tenable.
Atlanta’s Fall Foretold The End Of Civil War Bloodshed|Marc Wortman|September 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
He was at length convinced by the arguments of his opponents that the corn-laws were no longer tenable.
The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.III.|E. Farr and E. H. Nolan
The common theory, therefore, of the calculation of chances, appears to be tenable.
A System of Logic: Ratiocinative and Inductive|John Stuart Mill
Neither the harbour nor the town was tenable any longer, and orders were given for the embarkation of the troops.
The Political History of England - Vol. X.|William Hunt
Our position in the fort was only tenable, provided the troops on our left held their position.
Reminiscences of the Guilford Grays, Co. B., 27th N.C. Regiment|John A. Sloan
A theory which the author continued to regard as partially tenable.
The Translations of Beowulf|Chauncey Brewster Tinker

British Dictionary definitions for tenable

tenable

/ (ˈtɛnəbəl) /

adjective

able to be upheld, believed, maintained, or defended

Derived forms of tenable

tenability 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

tenable

OTHER WORDS FOR tenable

Origin of tenable

OTHER WORDS FROM tenable

Words nearby tenable

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How to use tenable in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for tenable

Derived forms of tenable

Word Origin for tenable