tenuous
If something is tenuous it's thin, either literally or metaphorically. If you try to learn a complicated mathematical concept by cramming for 45 minutes, you will have a tenuous grasp of that concept, at best.
Tenuous comes from the Latin word tenuis, for thin, and is related to our word tender. Something can be physically tenuous, like a spiderweb or ice on a pond. We more often use it in a metaphorical sense, to talk about weak ideas. Tenuous arguments won't win any debate tournaments. Synonyms for tenuous, also used physically or metaphorically, are flimsy and shaky.
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lacking substance or significance“a tenuous argument”
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insignificant, unimportant
devoid of importance, meaning, or force
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insignificant, unimportant
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affording no ease or reassurance
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synonyms:
precarious, unstable
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uneasy
lacking a sense of security or affording no ease or reassurance
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uneasy
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very thin in gauge or diameter“a tenuous thread”
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Synonyms:
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thin
of relatively small extent from one surface to the opposite or in cross section
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thin
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having thin consistency“a tenuous fluid”
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Synonyms:
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thin
relatively thin in consistency or low in density; not viscous
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thin
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Vocabulary lists containing tenuous
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