tenderness
/ˈtɛndənəs
/noun [mass noun]
1Gentleness and kindness; kindliness: he picked her up in his arms with great tenderness...
- I've never seen an equine vendor played with such a vulnerable tenderness.
- Cruz gives a stoical performance that brings some tenderness to what is essentially a rather uncomfortably melancholic melodrama.
- Almost entirely sung through, the contemporary score mixes both vaudevillian frivolity and heartfelt tenderness seamlessly.
Synonyms
affection, fondness, love, devotion, loving-kindness, emotion, sentiment, sentimentality, emotionalism
kindness, kindliness, kind-heartedness, soft-heartedness, softness, tender-heartedness, compassion, compassionateness, care, concern, sympathy, warmth, warm-heartedness, fatherliness, motherliness, gentleness, benevolence, generosity, humaneness
succulence, juiciness, softness
sensitivity to pain, soreness, painfulness, inflammation, rawness;
ache, aching, smarting, throbbing, irritation, bruising
1.1Feelings of deep affection: tenderness for the opposite sex...
- In exquisite tenderness the passionate embrace, climbing higher towards ecstasy.
- She looked at him, and felt a wave of tenderness.
- I laughed with delight and laid my hand along his cheek, smiling at him as a sudden wave of tenderness swept me.
2Sensitivity to pain; soreness: abdominal tenderness...
- Bacterial prostatitis is diagnosed by a rectal examination, which reveals the acute tenderness of the gland.
- The abdomen was soft with mild right upper quadrant tenderness on deep palpation.
- Palpation of the Achilles tendon often elicits tenderness along the tendon.
3The quality of being easy to cut or chew; succulence: steak braised to perfect tenderness in a red-wine-and-brandy sauce...
- The steak was grilled to perfection, yet retaining its juicy tenderness.
- To ensure its tenderness, the loin was first seared then cooked at a very low temperature for a couple of hours.
- Increasing tenderness of beef would likely increase consumer demand for beef.