tenderness
noun
Simple meaning
A tendency to express warm and affectionate feeling.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
tehndernuhsSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈtɛndɚnəs
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.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A tendency to express warm and affectionate feeling
“His tenderness toward his grandchildren was evident in every gentle hug.”
A tendency to express warm, compassionate feelings.
A concern for the feelings or welfare of others.
A feeling of concern for the welfare of someone (especially someone defenseless)
Quality, state or condition of being tender.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A tendency to express warm and affectionate feeling
Used this way, tenderness is a common word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“His tenderness toward his grandchildren was evident in every gentle hug.”
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Affectionate
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use tenderness
- “The best results are generally obtained by inserting the needle into the point of maximum tenderness.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Pain felt when a hand pressing on the abdomen is suddenly released.
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Words can change meaning depending on context.
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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.