1. A tendency to express warm and affectionate feeling
   "His tenderness towards animals was touching to observe"
    
2. A positive feeling of liking or friendship
   "he had trouble expressing the tenderness he felt";
   - affection, affectionateness, fondness, heart, warmness, warmheartedness, philia
    
3. The quality of being easily moved by others' distress
   "His tenderness made him an excellent counsellor";
   - tenderheartedness
    
4. A feeling of concern for the welfare of someone (especially someone defenseless)
   "His tenderness led him to volunteer at the animal shelter";
   - softheartedness
    
5. Painful sensitivity or discomfort, especially of injured or inflamed tissue
   "the best results are generally obtained by inserting the needle into the point of maximum tenderness";
   - soreness, rawness
    
6. The quality of being soft or easily cut
   "The tenderness of the steak made it perfect for eating"

Sounds like: teenier, tenia, terness, ten

Type of: affectionateness, compassion, compassionateness, concern, feeling, fondness, hurting, lovingness, pain, warmth

Encyclopedia: Tenderness