Synonyms of tending

tending 1 of 3

adjective

as in prone

having a tendency to be or act in a certain way

people tending toward daily exercise will significantly reduce their risk of cardiac arrest

Synonyms & Similar Words

• prone
• inclined
• willing
• apt
• choosing
• preferring
• liable
• given
• minded
• disposed
• likely
• predisposed

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• unwilling
• averse
• loath
• indisposed
• disinclined

tending

2 of 3

verb (1)

present participle of tend

as in leaning

to show a liking or proneness (for something)

her wardrobe tends toward dark colors and heavy fabrics

Synonyms & Similar Words

• leaning
• inclining
• going
• running
• trending
• pointing
• gravitating
• suggesting
• indicating

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• avoiding
• shunning
• shying (from or away from)

tending

3 of 3

verb (2)

present participle of tend

1

as in supervising

to take charge of especially on behalf of another

tend the store while I run an errand

Synonyms & Similar Words

• supervising
• watching
• overseeing
• managing
• attending
• guarding
• superintending
• protecting
• controlling
• operating
• minding
• running
• guiding
• looking after
• conducting
• governing
• regulating
• seeing to
• caring (for)
• taking care of
• directing
• patrolling
• seeing after
• safeguarding
• shielding
• administrating
• presiding (over)
• shepherding
• stewarding
• babying
• babysitting
• mothering
• chaperoning

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• ignoring
• neglecting
• forgetting
• abandoning
• disregarding
• passing over

2

as in growing

to look after or assist the growth of by labor and care

lately I haven't been doing a good job of tending my garden

Synonyms & Similar Words

• growing
• cultivating
• producing
• planting
• promoting
• harvesting
• raising
• cropping
• rearing
• dressing
• breeding
• propagating
• culturing
• sowing
• sprouting
• gathering
• ripening
• rooting
• reaping
• quickening
• germinating
• gleaning

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• killing
• picking
• digging
• plucking
• pulling (up)
• cutting
• uprooting
• mowing
• extirpating
• haying

3

as in cultivating

to work by plowing, sowing, and raising crops on

plots that during the war were tended by city dwellers as vegetable gardens

Synonyms & Similar Words

• cultivating
• planting
• farming
• harvesting
• tilling
• cropping
• reaping
• hoeing
• harrowing
• sharecropping

4

as in managing

to look after and make decisions about

the dying patriarch wondered who would tend the family business after he was gone

Synonyms & Similar Words

• supervising
• managing
• overseeing
• operating
• controlling
• regulating
• handling
• conducting
• running
• governing
• keeping
• directing
• guiding
• administering
• superintending
• protecting
• administrating
• overlooking
• watching
• stewarding
• presiding (over)
• carrying on
• leading
• watching over
• guarding
• steering
• minding
• safeguarding
• piloting
• caring (for)
• micromanaging
• stage-managing
• codirecting
• comanaging

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of tending

Verb

Cultivating collaboration Wounaan, like many Indigenous peoples of lower central and northwestern South America, emphasize tending to relationships. — Chenier Carpio Opua, The Conversation, 5 Aug. 2026

Immigrants make up 47% of workers tending to people in long-term care facilities here, a 2026 report from KFF said. — Cameron Pugh, Christian Science Monitor, 1 Aug. 2026

After tending to the animals, they’re taken to Kalapooia Valley Grass Fed Processing, which Anderson runs, allowing the operation to go from birth to butcher under his supervision. — Esha Chhabra, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026

Female professionals, however, may require the title of commissioner to belong to someone whose primary role is tending more directly to the players’ emotions. — Dan Zaksheske Outkick, FOXNews.com, 30 July 2026

She was eventually promoted to work as a gardener in Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, tending to the lobby’s lush rainforest then filled with native-Hawaiian plants. — Wuft News, Miami Herald, 29 July 2026

Reparations serve as redress—indemnity through compensation, addressing grievances, and tending to wounds. — Literary Hub, 27 July 2026

His mother works as a groom, feeding, watering and tending to the animals. — Robert McCoppin, Chicago Tribune, 25 July 2026

As Lauren spent more time tending the graves, her dog Hazel naturally joined her in the backyard. — Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 24 July 2026