tenuous implies extreme thinness, sheerness, or lack of substance and firmness.
a tenuous thread
Example Sentences
Adjective a thin coating of dust pizza with a thin crust a thin slice of ham a thin stand of trees Verb He added a little more water to thin the gravy. The haze thinned in the late afternoon. His face has been thinned by illness. Adverb She sliced the cheese thin. See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
But losing the 2021 Defensive Player of the Year for a chunk of the season, from an otherwise thin unit, is still a significant blow. Nate Davis, USA TODAY, 14 Sep. 2022 During a colonoscopy, a doctor (typically a gastroenterologist) inserts a thin, flexible tube inside the rectum to check the colon for polyps. Maggie O'neill, SELF, 14 Sep. 2022 Chris Papas distributed about 50 thin blue line flags to people waiting for the procession to pass through the area. Jozsef Papp, ajc, 14 Sep. 2022 When his legal team argued last week there was little due diligence would have revealed on fake users given Zatko’s claims that Twitter would bury any damaging information, the Court of Chancery in Delaware indicated Musk’s case rests on thin ice. Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 14 Sep. 2022 Of course, thin positioning among institutional investors also means the market is susceptible to rapid bouncebacks. Gunjan Banerji, WSJ, 13 Sep. 2022 The larger gathering Tuesday came exactly eight weeks before the midterm elections that will determine whether Democrats can hold onto their thin congressional majorities. Eli Stokolsstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 13 Sep. 2022 The Catholic Church continues to walk a thin line attempting to reclaim authority from the CCP without further endangering its members within Chinese borders.Fox News, 13 Sep. 2022 Western beauty ideals include being tall and thin, having long silky hair, light skin, a small nose, and high cheekbones. Náosha Gregg, Glamour, 10 Aug. 2022
Verb
If your snot is like molasses, drink up to help thin it out. Amy Marturana Winderl, SELF, 6 Sep. 2022 Olive oil and vinegar help thin the creamy dressing, and garnish it all with your favorite fresh herbs to add even more flavor. Laura Denby, Better Homes & Gardens, 18 Aug. 2022 Age can also play a role: As estrogen levels decrease between childbearing age and menopause, our hair may thin out. Mona Gohara, Good Housekeeping, 11 Aug. 2022 There are, of course, avenues to thin the payroll, including potentially offloading what would be Duncan Robinson’s $18.2 million 2023-24 salary. Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 12 July 2022 Blending clear polish with your favorite lacquer helps to thin it out for a softer look to strong pigments. Nicol Natale, PEOPLE.com, 19 July 2022 Sze likes to thin it out with soy sauce, black vinegar, and water for a dipping sauce with a balanced bite. Elyse Inamine, Bon Appétit, 19 Feb. 2022 If the fondue begins to thicken too much over time, add a small splash of wine to thin it. Hannah Selinger, Outside Online, 27 Jan. 2022 Check again in a few months because fabric can thin out or fade over time. Lexie Sachs, Good Housekeeping, 7 July 2022
Adverb
As a result, firefighters must take frequent breaks, which could leave the ranks stretched thin if several dangerous fires break out at once.BostonGlobe.com, 6 Sep. 2022 With resources already stretched thin, kids with fewer needs are getting the beds. Kaitlin Durbin, cleveland, 4 Sep. 2022 So this past year, the company launched a one-on-one coaching network for female attorneys stretched thin with work and family commitments. Diane Herbst, Peoplemag, 31 Aug. 2022 Abloh’s enthusiasm for design eclipsed other creatives and often left him spread thin. Roxanne Robinson, Forbes, 2 June 2022 The nation’s second-largest school system, Los Angeles Unified, has had the second-largest police force in the country, but it was always spread thin on a school-by-school basis. Howard Blumestaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 26 May 2022 Families, including Mecattaf’s, are spread thin all over the world. Isabelle Mecattaf, The New Yorker, 13 May 2022 The backline was stretched thin with Matarrita out, and a rotating cast of players have filled in at his left back (and sometimes left wing back) position. Pat Brennan, The Enquirer, 19 Aug. 2022 Polep and her husband care for their four children and her adult brother, who has multiple sclerosis, so their budget was already stretched thin before prices started rising. Kaitlyn Koterbski, Fortune, 5 Aug. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Adjective
Middle English thin, thinne, going back to Old English þynne, going back to Germanic *þunnu- (assimilated to the -ja-stem adjectives in West Germanic, whence Middle Dutch dunne "thin," Old High German dunni, against Old Norse þunnr), generalized from a paradigm *þenu-, *þunw-a-, going back to Indo-European *ténh2u-, *tn̥h2u̯ó-, whence also, from with a base *tenh2u-, *tn̥h2u- with varying ablaut and suffixation, Old Irish tanae "thin, slender," Old Welsh teneu, Middle Breton tanau, Latin tenuis "fine-drawn, thin, narrow, slight," Greek tanu- "extended, long," tanaós "outstretched, long," Old Church Slavic tĭnŭkŭ "fine, delicate," Russian tónkij "thin," Croatian & Serbian tȁnak, Lithuanian tę́vas, Sanskrit tanúḥ, tánukaḥ "thin, small"
Note: Indo-European *tenh2u-, *tn̥h2u- is usually taken to be a derivative of the verbal base *ten- "stretch, extend"; see tenant entry 1.
Verb
Middle English thinnen, going back to Old English þynnian, derivative of þynnethin entry 1
Adverb
Middle English thynne, derivative of thin, thinnethin entry 1
First Known Use
Adjective
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Verb
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense