tenuous
adj.very weak or uncertain. You use this to describe a connection, a reason, or a situation that could easily break or fail.
adj.extremely weak, slender, or slight; lacking a sound basis or substantial connection. Often describes abstract links, arguments, or positions of power.
“The connection between the two events is tenuous.”
“The new government held a tenuous grip on power after the narrow election victory.”
“The prosecutor's case rested on a tenuous link between the suspect's movements and the digital evidence, which the defence quickly challenged during the trial.”
Commonly used to modify abstract nouns like 'link', 'connection', 'grip', or 'argument'.
“The US midterm elections are fast approaching, with the economy front and centre for voters and the Republican hold on Congress looking tenuous.”
“But companies, and individuals, using AI systems often have a tenuous grasp on just how many tokens they are burning through – until they either run out or get their monthly bill.”
Irregularly formed from Latin tenuis (“thin, slight”) + -ous. Compare tenuious.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.