tenable
adjective
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Hold Onto the Meaning of Tenable
Tenable means "holdable". In the past it was often used in a physical sense—for example, to refer to a city that an army was trying to "hold" militarily against an enemy force. But nowadays it's almost always used when speaking of "held" ideas and theories. If you hold an opinion but evidence appears that completely contradicts it, your opinion is no longer tenable. So, for example, the old ideas that cancer is infectious or that being bled by leeches can cure your whooping cough now seem untenable.
Examples of tenable in a Sentence
Allison Schrager, Boston Herald, 25 Oct. 2025
The play of Jake Browning was no longer tenable.
—Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2025
Sitting back, and saying nothing, also is no longer tenable.
—Andre Mouchard, Oc Register, 6 Oct. 2025
There is no tenable middle ground here.
—Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tenable
Cite this Entry
“Tenable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tenable. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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tenable
adjective
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