tenderness

noun

ten·​der·​ness ˈten-dər-nəs 

: a tender quality or condition: such as

a

: gentleness and affection

His voice quavered with tenderness.

—Joyce Carol Oates

b

: the quality of being succulent and easily chewed

How you carve the meat enhances the tenderness and juiciness of each portion.

—Kemp Minifie

c

: sensitivity to touch or palpation

They found a small increased risk of reactions such as redness, swelling, and/or tenderness at the injection site …

—The Journal of the American Medical Association

Synonyms of tenderness

• kindness

Examples of tenderness in a Sentence

volunteers at the shelter tended to all the animals in their care with great tenderness

Recent Examples on the Web

Unlike traditional varieties, these include melted marshmallows and graham cracker crumbs to create an almost cookie-like shape and mouthfeel, but with the signature tenderness of a no-bake and the surprisingly crave-worthy grit of an artisanal cornbread. —Joey Skladany, Southern Living, 9 Dec. 2025

Any moments of tenderness are washed away, almost immediately, in exhaustion. —Literary Hub, 9 Dec. 2025

The director’s lifelong interest in the tenderness and grotesquerie is immediately apparent and presented with the kind of frenzied confidence that continues to make del Toro’s work feel explosive even as studios have made his movies more expensive and polished. —Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 8 Dec. 2025

There’s so much love and tenderness in this video. —Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for tenderness

• slenderness