Definition of Tenderness

1. Noun. A tendency to express warm and affectionate feeling.

Generic synonyms: Affectionateness, Fondness, Lovingness, Warmth
Derivative terms: Tender

2. Noun. A pain that is felt (as when the area is touched). "After taking a cold, rawness of the larynx and trachea come on"
Exact synonyms: Rawness, Soreness
Specialized synonyms: Chafing, Rebound Tenderness, Chafe
Generic synonyms: Hurting, Pain
Derivative terms: Raw, Raw, Sore, Tender, Tender

3. Noun. Warm compassionate feelings.
Exact synonyms: Tenderheartedness
Generic synonyms: Compassion, Compassionateness
Derivative terms: Tenderhearted, Tenderhearted, Tender

4. Noun. A positive feeling of liking. "The warmness of his welcome made us feel right at home"

5. Noun. A feeling of concern for the welfare of someone (especially someone defenseless).
Exact synonyms: Softheartedness
Generic synonyms: Concern
Derivative terms: Softhearted, Tender

Definition of Tenderness

1. n. The quality or state of being tender (in any sense of the adjective).

Definition of Tenderness

1. Noun. a tendency to express warm, compassionate feelings ¹

2. Noun. concern for the feelings or welfare of others ¹

3. Noun. pain or discomfort when an affected area is touched ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Tenderness

1. [n -ES]

Medical Definition of Tenderness

1. The condition of being tender. Pencil tenderness, strictly localised tenderness, elicited by pressure with the rubber tip of a pencil, e.g., in cases of incomplete or subperiosteal fracture. Rebound tenderness, tenderness felt when pressure, particularly pressure on the abdomen, is suddenly released. (05 Mar 2000)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Tenderness

tenderising
tenderization
tenderizations
tenderize
tenderized
tenderizer
tenderizers
tenderizes
tenderizing
tenderling
tenderlings
tenderloin
tenderloin steak
tenderloins
tenderly
tenderness
tenderness to palpation
tendernesses
tenderometer
tenderometers
tenderoni
tenderonis
tenderpreneur
tenderpreneurs
tenders
tending
tending(p)
tendinitides
tendinitis
tendinitises

Literary usage of Tenderness

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Complete Works of Gustave Flaubert: Embracing Romances, Travels by Gustave Flaubert, Ferdinand Brunetière (1904)
"... attended to his slightest wishes, left and returned again with footsteps more light than those of a fly, and gazed at him with eyes full of tenderness. ..."

2. The Black Arrow: A Tale of the Two Roses by Robert Louis Stevenson (1905)
"... the stern features relaxing into a smile, the eyes softening with a pathetic tenderness. " Here comes Lou," he would say; " we will change the subject. ..."

3. Proceedings by Philadelphia County Medical Society (1904)
"The tenderness in acute appendicitis varies in degree quite as much as does the pain. In the very early hours of the affection the tenderness is ..."

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