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Webster 1913 Edition


Tenable

Ten′a-ble

(tĕn′ȧ-b’l)
,
Adj.
[F.
tenable
, fr.
tenir
to hold, L.
tenere
. See
Thin
, and cf.
Continue
,
Continent
,
Entertain
,
Maintain
,
Tenant
,
Tent
.]
Capable of being held, maintained, or defended, as against an assailant or objector, or against attempts to take or process;
as, a
tenable
fortress, a
tenable
argument
.
If you have hitherto concealed his sight,
Let it be
tenable
in your silence still.
Shakespeare
I would be the last man in the world to give up his cause when it was
tenable
.
Sir W. Scott.

Webster 1828 Edition


Tenable

TEN'ABLE

,
Adj.
[L. teneo, to hold. See Tenant.]
That may be held, maintained or defended against an assailant, or against attempts to take it; as a tenable fortress. The works were not deemed tenable. The ground taken in the argument is not tenable.

Definition 2024


tenable

tenable

English

Adjective

tenable (comparative more tenable, superlative most tenable)

  1. (of a theory, argument, etc.) capable of being maintained or justified; well-founded
    Back in the 1800s, many did not consider Darwin's theory of evolution to be tenable at all.
  2. (of a defensive structure) capable of being defended against assault or attack; defensible

Antonyms

Translations

Anagrams


French

Adjective

tenable m, f (plural tenables)

  1. tenable