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

• 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

Then Danielle and Michèle dance, with a casual tenderness belying how charged the moment is for Michèle. —Richard Brody, New Yorker, 10 Sep. 2025

The scene is a familiar one in these kinds of tales of regression, but Apatow imbues it with a tenderness. —Esther Zuckerman, IndieWire, 7 Sep. 2025

When life events call for satisfying comfort food, try our Eggplant Parmesan to evoke warmth and tenderness. —Bethany Thayer, Freep.com, 6 Sep. 2025

The lives of the two children in the story, aged fourteen and four, are portrayed as being as fleeting as the fireflies, and the story is an unsentimental and unflinching account with moments of both tenderness and heartlessness. —Ginny Tapley Takemori september 4, Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for tenderness

• slenderness