tenacity
- 1The quality of sticking with a goal and not giving up.
Her tenacity helped her finish the race even after she fell.
He learned the piano through hard work and tenacity.
Similarpersistence, determination, perseverance, doggedness, resolve
Oppositeirresolution
Note
- 2The way a material holds together, so that it takes a lot of force to break it apart.
The tenacity of the old leather made it very hard to tear.
Glass breaks easily because it has very little tenacity.
Similartoughness, strength, cohesion, durability
Oppositebrittleness, fragility
Note
- 3The quality that makes a substance stick to other things it touches.
The mud had so much tenacity that it stuck to our shoes all the way home.
Because of its tenacity, the honey stayed stuck to the spoon.
Similarstickiness, adhesiveness, tackiness
Less common meaning
- 4The most pulling force a material can take before it tears apart, usually given in pounds per square inch.
Practice
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Origin
It comes from "tenacious" plus "-ity". It goes back through French to the Latin word tenācitās.