tender 1. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

tender¹

SYLLABICATION:	ten·der
PRONUNCIATION:	tndr
ADJECTIVE:	Inflected forms: ten·der·er, ten·der·est 1a. Easily crushed or bruised; fragile: a tender petal. b. Easily chewed or cut: tender beef. 2. Young and vulnerable: of tender age. 3. Frail; delicate. 4. Sensitive to frost or severe cold; not hardy: tender green shoots. 5a. Easily hurt; sensitive: tender skin. b. Painful; sore: a tender tooth. 6a. Considerate and protective; solicitous: a tender mother; his tender concern. b. Characterized by or expressing gentle emotions; loving: a tender glance; a tender ballad. c. Given to sympathy or sentimentality; soft: a tender heart. 7. Nautical Likely to heel easily under sail; crank.
TRANSITIVE VERB:	Inflected forms: ten·dered, ten·der·ing, ten·ders 1. To make tender. 2. Archaic To treat with tender regard.
ETYMOLOGY:	Middle English, from Old French tendre, from Latin tener. See ten- in Appendix I.
OTHER FORMS:	tender·ly —ADVERB tender·ness —NOUN


The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.