Synonyms of tenderness

tenderness

noun

ˈten-dər-nəs 

as in kindness

sympathetic concern for the well-being of others

volunteers at the shelter tended to all the animals in their care with great tenderness

Synonyms & Similar Words

• kindness
• warmth
• humaneness
• tenderheartedness
• kindliness
• benignity
• attentiveness
• generosity
• beneficence
• benevolence
• kindheartedness
• thoughtfulness
• warmheartedness
• good-heartedness
• benignancy
• patience
• considerateness
• friendliness
• mercifulness
• compassionateness
• softheartedness
• affability
• pleasantness
• understanding
• tolerance
• graciousness
• leniency
• niceness
• clemency
• charitableness
• magnanimity
• unselfishness
• altruism
• good-naturedness
• good-temperedness
• philanthropy
• charity
• greatheartedness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• cruelty
• brutality
• savagery
• inhumanity
• callousness
• barbarity
• heartlessness
• savageness
• brutishness
• unkindness
• ruthlessness
• bestiality
• mercilessness
• severity
• toughness
• insensitivity
• sternness
• hard-heartedness
• cold-bloodedness
• thoughtlessness
• inconsiderateness
• harshness
• barbarousness
• pitilessness
• grimness
• unkindliness
• unfeelingness
• meanness
• virulence
• malevolence
• spitefulness
• hatefulness
• maliciousness
• vitriol

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of tenderness

On one of her bare shoulders, a thumb-size bruise, which Cassidy sees with something like satisfaction, though also tenderness. —Joyce Carol Oates, The New Yorker, 16 Mar. 2025

Heavy whipping cream: Adds moisture and tenderness to the scones, as well as helping bind the dough. —Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 14 Mar. 2025

Just fill a large Dutch oven with cubed chuck, a fattier cut of beef that provides tenderness and lots of flavor. —Caron Golden, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Mar. 2025

This melodramatic pivot is surplus to the requirements of a shattered family portrait already rife with conflict and complication, and most moving when centered on small, everyday gestures of tenderness and loyalty. —Guy Lodge, Variety, 8 Mar. 2025