tenuous
tenu·ous/ˈtɛn.ju.əs/adjective
tenuous is spelled T-E-N-U-O-U-S: 7 letters and 2 syllables (tenu·ous). It appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,214th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, tenuous means “Thin in substance or consistency” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in tenuous?
| Letters | 7: T-E-N-U-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: tenu·ous |
| In writing | 1.0 times per million words; the 28,214th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is tenuous?
Tenuous appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,214th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce tenuous?
- UK /ˈtɛ.njʊ.əs/
- US /ˈtɛn.ju.əs/
Tenuous has 2 syllables, split tenu·ous in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-tenuous.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with tenuous?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as tenuous from its last stressed vowel (/ɛnjuəs/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of tenuous
- more tenuous comparative
- most tenuous superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does tenuous mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Thin in substance or consistency.
The aether was thought to be of tenuous strands.
- 2
Insubstantial.
His argument was not convincing in the debate, considering how tenuous it was.
- 3
Precarious, dependent upon unreliable things.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Tenuous in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense thin in substance or consistency:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | ténu |
| German | dünn, prekär, heikel, dürftig, fein, zart |
| Portuguese | ténue, tênue |
| Spanish | tenue |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does tenuous come from?
Irregularly formed from Latin tenuis (“thin, slight”) + -ous. Compare tenuious.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).