Choose the alternative meaning of the word “tenacious”:

Correct answer: Persistent. Tenacious means holding firmly to a goal and not giving up, which is persistent.

Background: Tenacious comes from the Latin tenax, meaning “holding fast”.

• Afraid: “Afraid” means frightened.
• Irresolute: “Irresolute” means hesitant, the opposite of tenacious.
• Weak: “Weak” is the opposite of tenacious.

Did you know? The noun is tenacity: the quality of not giving up.

Memory trick: TEN-acious: holds on TEN times harder.