(pronounced TEN-yoo-uhs)

Used to describe something having very little strength or substance: thin, light, slender, shaky, weak, flimsy, slight. This pleasant-sounding word can be used to describe something physical (a branch of tree), as well as something intangible (a concept or argument).

Example: The contractor’s reasoning for deviating from the construction documents was tenuous as best; his sub-contractor had simply forgotten to take the detail into account and build it into the contract price.