tenacity

The property or character of being tenacious, in any sense.

Retentiveness, as of memory.

Adhesiveness; that property of matter by virtueof which things stick or adhere to others; glutinousness; stickiness.

That property of material bodies by which their parts resist an effort to force or pull them asunder; also, the measure of the resistance of bodies to tearing or crushing: opposed to brittleness or fragility. Tenacity results from the attraction of cohesion which exists between the particles of bodies, and the stronger this attraction is in any body the greater is the tenacity of the body. Tenacity is consequently different in different materials, and in the same material it varies with the state of the body in regard to temperature and other circumstances. The resistance offered to tearing is called absolute tenacity, that offered to crushing retroactive tenacity. The tenacity of wood is much greater in the direction of the length of its fibers than in the transverse direction. With regard to metals, the processes of forging and wire-drawing increase their tenacity in the longitudinal direction; and mixed metals have, in general, greater tenacity than those which are simple. See cohesion.

The quality or state of being tenacious.