tenacious

Tenacious is about grip — it comes from the word for to hold, and every use keeps a hand in the picture: a tenacious climber, a tenacious cough, a tenacious rumour. It is not quite determined: determination is about the goal ahead; tenacity is about what you already hold and will not release. In the animation, a cockroach drags a whole cookie across the floor and will not let go.