tenable
/ˈtɛn.ə.bəl/ adjective
- adjective (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.”
- adjective (military) Capable of being defended against assault or attack; defensible
- adjective (formal) Fit for habitation, similar, or related use.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology
From the French tenable, from tenir (“to hold”); compare tenible.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Capable of being held, naintained, or defended, as against an assailant or objector, or againts attempts to take or process; as, a tenable fortress, a tenable argument.
Etymology [F. tenable, fr. tenir to hold, L. tenere. See Thin, and cf. Continue, Continent, Entertain, Maintain, Tenant, Tent.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “tenable”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details