VocabauraVOCABAURA

tender

adjective · noun · adverb · verb

Simple meaning

Physically weak; not able to endure hardship.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

tehnder

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈtɛndɚ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adjective

  1. Physically weak; not able to endure hardship.

  2. Easily bruised or injured; not firm or hard; delicate.

  3. Physically untoughened

  4. of food

    Soft and easily chewed.

  5. Sensible to impression and pain; easily pained.

  6. Fond, loving, gentle, or sweet.

noun

  1. Anything which is offered, proffered, put forth or bid with the expectation of a response, answer, or reply.

  2. A means of payment such as a check or cheque, cash or credit card.

  3. Any offer or proposal made for acceptance.

  4. A specialized firefighting apparatus designed for transporting water from a water source, such as a lake or hydrant, to a fire scene.

  5. The inner flight muscle (pectoralis minor) of poultry.

adverb

  1. Tenderly

verb

  1. formal

    Offer or present for acceptance

  2. formal

    To offer, to give.

  3. To offer a payment, as at sales or auctions; to bid.

  4. To work on a tender.

  5. Make tender or more tender as by marinating, pounding, or applying a tenderizer

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Sensitive or painful to the touch.

Used this way, tender is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly unfavourable pull. It sounds natural in ordinary conversation and in expressive writing alike.

Emotional tone
Negative
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Moderate
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Serious and weighty
Usage feel
Everyday but emotionally strong

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use tender

  • “The slow-cooked meat was incredibly tender and delicious.”

Share your sentence

Write your own example sentence using “tender”. We review each one before it appears.

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Adapted

tender hearttender feelingstender affection

Other combinations

tender offerstender agetender years

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • tendverbBase word

    Have a tendency or disposition to do or be something.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • tenderlyadverbDerived adverb

    With tenderness.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • tender offernounCompound term

    An offer to buy shares in a corporation (usually above the market price) for cash or securities or both.

  • tender loving carenounCompound term

    Considerate and solicitous care.

  • legal tendernounCompound term

    Something that can be used as an official medium of payment.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: anything which is offered or proffered or put forth

offerchewableRare

Use This Word

See how this word sounds in a real sentence.

Ask Vocabaura

Understand the word your way.

What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Related Learning

Guides that use this word in context.

Collections with this word

Themed sets you can browse for free.

Use it yourself

Knowing “tender” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.

Know the meaning? Practice using it in a real situation, free, no credits.

Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.