English
tender
Pronunciation
  • (British) IPA: /ˈtɛn.də(ɹ)/
  • (America) IPA: /ˈtɛn.dɚ/
    • (NY) IPA: /ˈtɛn.də/
Adjective

tender (comparative tenderer, superlative tenderest)

  1. Sensitive or painful to the touch.
    • 1597, William Shakespeare, All's Well that Ends Well, act III, scene 2:
      […] poore Lord, is't I
      That chaſe thee from thy Countrie, and expoſe
      Thoſe tender limbes of thine […]
    • 2006, Mike Myers (as the voice of the title character), Shrek (movie)
      Be careful: that area is tender.
  2. Easily bruised or injured; not firm or hard; delicate.
    tender plants; tender flesh; tender fruit
  3. Physically weak; not able to endure hardship.
    • Bible, Deuteronomy 28:56
      the tender and delicate woman among you
  4. (of food) Soft and easily chewed.
    • 2001, Joey Pantolino (character), The Matrix (movie)
      The Matrix is telling my brain this steak is tender, succulent, and juicy.
  5. Sensible to impression and pain; easily pained.
    • Our bodies are not naturally more tender than our faces.
  6. Fond, loving, gentle, sweet.
    Suzanne was such a tender mother to her children.
    • Bible, James 5:11
      The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
    • c. 1610–1611, William Shakespeare, “The VVinters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act II, scene iii]:
      You, that are thus so tender o'er his follies, / Will never do him good.
    • I am choleric by my nature, and tender by my temper.
  7. Young and inexperienced.
  8. Adapted to excite feeling or sympathy; expressive of the softer passions; pathetic.
    tender expressions; tender expostulations; a tender strain
  9. Apt to give pain; causing grief or pain; delicate.
    a tender subject
    • 1625, Francis Bacon, Of Cunning
      Things that are tender and unpleasing.
  10. (nautical) Heeling over too easily when under sail; said of a vessel.
  11. (obsolete) Exciting kind concern; dear; precious.
    • c. 1590–1591, William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act V, scene iv]:
      I love Valentine, / Whose life's as tender to me as my soul!
  12. (obsolete) Careful to keep inviolate, or not to injure; used with of.
    • tender of property
    • The civil authority should be tender of the honour of God and religion.
Synonyms Translations Translations
  • Russian: хру́пкий
Translations Translations Noun

tender

  1. (obsolete) care#Noun|Care, kind#Adjective|kind concern#Noun|concern, regard#Noun|regard.
    • c. 1597, William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act V, scene 4], page 72 ↗, column 1:
      Stay, and breath awhile. / Thou haſt redeem'd thy loſt opinion / And ſhew'd thou makeſt ſome tender of my life / In this faire reſcue thou haſt brought to mee.
  2. The inner flight muscle (pectoralis minor) of poultry.
Adverb

tender

  1. tenderly
    Love me tender, love me sweet
    Never let me go
Verb

tender (tenders, present participle tendering; past and past participle tendered)

  1. (now rare) To make tender or delicate; to weaken.
    • 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed by John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, OCLC 54573970 ↗:
      , vol.I, New York, 2001, p.233:
      To such as are wealthy, live plenteously, at ease, […] these viands are to be forborne, if they be inclined to, or suspect melancholy, as they tender their healths […].
    • circa 1947 Putnam Fadeless Dyes [flyer packaged with granulated dye]:
      Putnam Fadeless Dyes will not injure any material. Boiling water does tender some materials. […] Also, silk fibers are very tender when wet and care should be take not to boil them too vigorously.
  2. (archaic) To feel tenderly towards; to regard fondly or with consideration.
    • 1594, Christopher Marlowe, Edward II (play), London: William Jones,
      The angrie king hath banished me the court:
      And therefore as thou louest and tendrest me,
      Be thou my aduocate vnto these peeres.
    • 1595 December 9 (first known performance)​​, William Shakespeare, “The life and death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act I, scene 1], page 23 ↗, column 1:
      Firſt, heauen be the record to my ſpeech,
      In the deuotion of a ſubiects loue,
      Tendering the precious ſafetie of my Prince,
      And free from other misbegotten hate,
      Come I appealant to rhis [sic] Princely preſence.
    • c. 1597, William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act III, Scene 1 (First Folio edition):
      And ſo good Capulet, which name I tender
      As dearely as my owne, be ſatisfied.
Noun

tender (plural tenders)

  1. (obsolete) Someone who tends or waits on someone.
  2. (rail transport) A railroad car towed behind a steam engine to carry fuel and water.
    • 1938, Xavier Herbert, Capricornia, New York: D. Appleton-Century, 1943, Chapter XII, p. 201,
      Half the coal was out of the tender, half the fire out of the box, half the trucks were off the track, so violent was the stopping.
  3. (nautical) A naval ship that functions as a mobile base for other ships.
    submarine tender
    destroyer tender
  4. (nautical) A smaller boat used for transportation between a large ship and the shore.
Synonyms Translations
  • Italian: tender
  • Portuguese: tênder
  • Russian: те́ндер
  • Spanish: vagón nodriza, ténder
Translations
  • Russian: плавучий
Translations Verb

tender (tenders, present participle tendering; past and past participle tendered)

  1. To work on a tender.
Noun

tender (plural tenders)

  1. Anything which is offered, proffered, put forth or bid with the expectation of a response, answer, or reply.
    • c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act I, scene iii]:
      Polonius: Affection? Pooh! You speak like a green girl / Unsifted in such perilous circumstance. / Do you believe his tenders, as you call them? // Ophelia: I do not know, my lord, what I should think. // Polonius: Marry, I'll teach you. Think yourself a baby / That you have ta'en these tenders for true pay / Which are not sterling. Tender yourself more dearly, / Or — not to crack the wind of the poor phrase / Running it thus — you'll tender me a fool.
      Herein, the Bard plays with the word "tender" most liberally. The boldened instance of the word is that which pertains to the instant sense.
    You offer me the sword of my father, the very man whose bones, because of your perfidy, lie under the sod of Crecy. Aye, I'll surely take it, and just as surely you shall die with your tender through your heart!
  2. A means of payment such as a check or cheque, cash or credit card.
    Your credit card has been declined so you need to provide some other tender such as cash.
    legal tender
  3. (legal) A formal offer to buy or sell something.
    We will submit our tender to you within the week.
  4. Any offer or proposal made for acceptance.
    • 1599, William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, Act II, Scene 3
      [...] if she should make tender of her love, 'tis very possible he'll scorn it; for the man,—as you know all,—hath a contemptible spirit.
Translations Translations Verb

tender (tenders, present participle tendering; past and past participle tendered)

  1. (formal) To offer, to give.
    to tender one’s resignation
    • c. 1605–1608, William Shakespeare, “The Life of Tymon of Athens”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act I, scene i]:
      You see how all conditions, how all minds, […] tender down / Their services to Lord Timon.
    • 1864 November 21, Abraham Lincoln (signed) or John Hay, letter to Mrs. Bixby in Boston
      I cannot refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.
  2. to offer a payment, as at sales or auctions.
Synonyms Translations Translations

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