Question

tenable She was depressed for weeks after her professor said that her theory wasn't tenable. ˈtɛnəbəl

Accepted Answer

Capable of being held or defended; reasonable. Tenable means “holdable.” In the past it was often used in a physical sense—for example, to refer to a city that an army was trying to “hold” militarily against an enemy force. But nowadays it's almost always used when speaking of “held” ideas and theories. If you hold an opinion but evidence appears that completely contradicts it, your opinion is no longer tenable. So, for example, the old ideas that cancer is infectious or that being bled by leeches can cure your whooping cough now seem untenable

word	tenable
definition	Capable of being held or defended; reasonable.
eg_sentence	She was depressed for weeks after her professor said that her theory wasn't tenable.
explanation	Tenable means “holdable.” In the past it was often used in a physical sense—for example, to refer to a city that an army was trying to “hold” militarily against an enemy force. But nowadays it's almost always used when speaking of “held” ideas and theories. If you hold an opinion but evidence appears that completely contradicts it, your opinion is no longer tenable. So, for example, the old ideas that cancer is infectious or that being bled by leeches can cure your whooping cough now seem untenable
IPA	ˈtɛnəbəl

Tenable Ideas Opinion Capable Held Defended Reasonable Depressed