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

• beneficence
• benevolence
• benignancy
• benignity
• compassionateness
• good-heartedness
• humaneness
• kindheartedness
• kindliness
• kindness
• softheartedness
• tenderheartedness
• warmheartedness

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

Another pitcher injured Tony Gonsolin has been put on the IL with tenderness in his pitching elbow. —Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2025

In an almost prismatic way the audience is let into each of the characters’ perspectives and vulnerabilities and their capacities for tenderness. —Jeryl Brunner, Forbes.com, 7 June 2025

Freshly 17, the pride of Hollygrove runs through a laundry list of grievances that were gnawing at his mind, trading his typically boastful bars for tenderness and vulnerability. —Pitchfork, 6 June 2025

In June, tenderness and transformation go hand in hand. —Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for tenderness

• slenderness