tenable

6 synonyms and 2 antonyms for tenable, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.

Adjective — Able to be defended against criticism or objection; reasonable enough to hold as a position.

Synonyms

Everyday swaps

Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.

sound

Less common

Still standard English, but they carry more weight.

plausible

Rare, literary or technical

Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.

defensible justifiable arguable holdable

Synonyms by Meaning

1. adjective

Able to be defended against criticism or objection; reasonable enough to hold as a position.

“After the new evidence emerged, his theory was no longer tenable.”

defensible justifiable sound arguable plausible

Opposites

untenable indefensible

2. adjective

Of a military position, capable of being held against attack.

“The ridge was not tenable once the artillery was lost.”

defensible holdable

How to use tenable

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

no longer tenable a tenable position hardly tenable

Formal, common in academic, legal and journalistic writing. The negative untenable is far more frequently used than the positive.

Etymology

From French tenable, from tenir 'to hold', from Latin tenere 'to hold'.

Full origin of tenable →

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between tenable and tenuous?

Tenable means an argument or position can be successfully defended. Tenuous means it is thin, weak or barely supported. A tenuous link between two events is exactly the kind of thing that makes an argument untenable.

What is the difference between tenable and viable?

Tenable concerns whether a claim or position stands up to challenge; viable concerns whether a plan or organism can actually work or survive. A business plan can be viable, an interpretation can be tenable.

People also searched

sound plausible justifiable defensible arguable indefensible untenable

Nearby words

← Back to the full definition of tenable