How to Use tenuous in a Sentence
tenuous
adjective- The local theater has had a tenuous existence in recent years.
- He could demonstrate only a tenuous claim to ownership.
- He has a tenuous grasp on reality.
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This gives him a claim (how tenuous is yet to be seen) to the throne.
— Kayleigh Roberts, Marie Claire, 16 July 2017 -
By the end of the quarter, the Bucks held a tenuous eight-point margin.
— Matt Velazquez, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 22 Apr. 2018 -
And sure enough, some of his claims are tenuous or worse.
— The Economist, 11 Jan. 2018 -
The Pac-12 soon followed, with only tenuous plans to play games in the spring.
— Washington Post, 26 Aug. 2020 -
Koepka’s grip on the lead appeared tenuous at times on the back nine.
— Brian Costa, WSJ, 17 June 2018 -
And while DeSantis can still claim to be ahead of the rest of the pack, even that has begun to look tenuous.
— David Lauter, Los Angeles Times, 28 July 2023 -
Six points is a tenuous lead in the NFL, and at any moment the Patriots could have claimed the lead with a big play.
— Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times, 3 Dec. 2023 -
His heir is a child, so a tenuous Council of Regents has been put in charge.
— Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Feb. 2024 -
The tenuous and drama-filled process that left politicos and voters alike on the edge of their seats was over.
— Christal Hayes, USA TODAY, 13 Aug. 2020 -
Auburn held on to its tenuous lead for eight long minutes.
— Giana Han, al, 27 Nov. 2020 -
The study’s tenuous connection to The Lancet was just one small part of its appeal.
— Benjamin Mazer, The Atlantic, 17 May 2022 -
But, as too many flirt with the antisemitism of our past, progress is tenuous.
— Julia Jassey, New York Daily News, 20 Feb. 2024 -
That support for Lukashenko is looking all the more tenuous as protests mount.
— Washington Post, 18 Aug. 2020 -
The boundaries between the therapy room and the world are tenuous.
— Sarah Darghouth, STAT, 8 Dec. 2023 -
McCarthy’s hold on the speakership has been tenuous from the start.
— Erin B. Logan, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2023 -
The highlights have given Luca a grasp on the actual rules of the game that is tenuous at best.
— Jason Horowitz, The New Yorker, 9 Nov. 2022 -
Elflein’s handle on the left guard job seems more tenuous given his problems the last two years.
— Mark Craig, Star Tribune, 6 Aug. 2020 -
The big problem with Keep is that its future seems tenuous.
— David Pierce, The Verge, 25 Aug. 2023 -
Biden and his party have a much more tenuous grip on power.
— NBC news, 26 Apr. 2021 -
In unison, the girls declared that their fans, in a rather tenuous pun, would be known as Eyekons.
— Alex Barasch, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2024 -
The Sun Devils went into the late innings up 14-5, only to give up two in the bottom of the eighth and three in the ninth, making the lead tenuous at best.
— Michelle Gardner, The Arizona Republic, 25 May 2023 -
Most coaches who do that have a tenuous hold on their locker room at best.
— Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press, 5 Nov. 2019 -
From the get-go, there are hints of how tenuous this new beginning is for the Yi family.
— Anne Anlin Cheng, The Atlantic, 19 Feb. 2021 -
Heirs are rarely aware of the tenuous nature of their ownership.
— Lizzie Presser, ProPublica, 15 July 2019 -
This would seem to make such an approach too tenuous to maintain.
— Noah Daponte-Smith, National Review, 28 July 2017 -
That could leave the state in a tenuous position if something blows up or otherwise fails.
— Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2024 -
But his quest at a third Cup title is tenuous considering his position in the points.
— Bruce Martin, Forbes, 12 Oct. 2024
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tenuous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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