What does tenuous mean?
Word: Tenuous
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Tenuous means so thin or so unsure that it could easily give way, as a link between two ideas might.
Synonyms: flimsy, shaky
Antonyms: firm
How do you spell tenuous?
Syllables: ten - u - ous
Tricky part: Three vowels sit side by side near the close, u then o then u, and one of them is easily lost.
Watch out for: tenous, tenuos, tenuious
Memory tip: A tenuous chain has three thin links in the middle: u, o, u.
Tenuous in a sentence
Example 1: Her claim to the trophy was tenuous, since she had played only one match.
Example 2: The phone signal in the hills is tenuous at best.
Example 3: Their tenuous friendship grew stronger during the trek.
Fun Fact
Astronomers still use the word in its old sense of thin: the Sun's corona is often described as tenuous, a wispy layer of very hot gas.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word tenuous as used in the sentence:
The film has only a tenuous connection to the true story.
a) faint
b) slight
c) strong
d) weak
Show answer
c) strong. A strong connection is clear and solid, unlike the thin one in this sentence.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word.
My unstuoe hold on French verbs worries me before every test.
a) tedious
b) tenuous
c) tenacious
d) nervous
Show answer
b) tenuous. With two u letters and no i, c, r or d, only one word can be made.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
tennuous
a) n
b) t
c) e
d) o
Show answer
a) n. The letter n is not doubled in this word.
Spell-o-Spell
Three words in the list are spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of the one that is not.
1. conscience 2. privilege 3. manoeuvre 4. tanuous
a) a skilful movement needing care
b) slender and not at all secure
c) your inner sense of right and wrong
d) a special right given to a few
Show answer
b) slender and not at all secure. An e, not an a, belongs after the t in tanuous.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which argument rests on a tenuous link?
a) I practised daily, so my serve got better.
b) It rained all night, so the ground is wet.
c) We left late, so we missed the early bus.
d) I wore blue socks, so our team won the match.
Show answer
d) I wore blue socks, so our team won the match.
2. If a country has a tenuous hold on the top of a medal table, it ____.
a) could easily lose that place soon
b) won every gold medal on offer
c) has led by a huge margin all week
d) has not yet won any medals
Show answer
a) could easily lose that place soon
