tenacious
/təˈneɪʃəs/
"tenacious" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“tenacious” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #27,677 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #27,677
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Clinging to an object or surface; adhesive.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | tenacious |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /təˈneɪʃəs/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #27,677 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “tenacious” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for tenacious is 9 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /təˈneɪʃəs/. Corpus data places it at rank #27,677 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for tenacious, with forms such as "etnacious", "teancious", and "tenaccious". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin tenāx (“holding fast, clinging”), from tenēre (“to hold”), + -ious. The correct English form is tenacious, spelled T-E-N-A-C-I-O-U-S.
Definition
- 1Clinging to an object or surface; adhesive.
- 2Unwilling to yield or give up; dogged.
- 3Holding together; cohesive.
- 4Having a good memory; retentive.
Etymology
From Latin tenāx (“holding fast, clinging”), from tenēre (“to hold”), + -ious.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: etnacious,teancious,tenaccious,tenaciosu,tenaciouss,tenaciuos,tenacoius,tenaicous,tencaious,tennacious,tneacious,ttenacious
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of tenacious - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "tenacious"?
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Using “tenacious”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is T-E-N-A-C-I-O-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /təˈneɪʃəs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.