tenable

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tenable

/ˈtɛn.ə.bəl/ US, UK
[ˈtɛn.ə.bl̩] US, UK
/ˈten.ə.bəl/ Australia
[ˈten.ə.bl̩] Australia

Rhymes with -ɛnəbəl

Where it comes from

From the French tenable, from tenir (“to hold”); compare tenible.

adjective more tenable · most tenable

usually, of a theory 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.
Similar: defensible
Capable of being defended against assault or attack; defensible The island of Melos undoubtedly fell within his general conceptions of tenable empire for Athens.
formal Fit for habitation, similar, or related use. In February, 1679, he was admitted "a planter" of the town and a home lot was granted him "on condition that it should have a tenable house built upon it within two years.

Opposite: untenable, intenable

Thesaurus

adjective

Opposite: untenable, intenable

Translations

Every language

adj of a theory, argument etc: capable of being maintained or justified; well-founded

Español	sostenible
Deutsch	haltbar
Русский	разу́мный razúmnyj

adj of a defensive structure: capable of being defended

Español	defendible
Deutsch	verteidigungsfähig

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MLA

"tenable." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/tenable. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

tenable. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/tenable

Chicago

"tenable." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/tenable.

BibTeX

@misc{tenable_2026,
  title = {tenable},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/tenable},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}