tenderness
ten·der·ness/ˈtɛn.dɚ.nɪs/noun
tenderness is spelled T-E-N-D-E-R-N-E-S-S: 10 letters and 3 syllables (ten·der·ness). It appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,209th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, tenderness means “Quality, state or condition of being tender” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of tenderness is tendernesses.
How many letters and syllables are in tenderness?
| Letters | 10: T-E-N-D-E-R-N-E-S-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: ten·der·ness |
| In writing | 1.7 times per million words; the 21,209th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is tenderness?
Tenderness appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,209th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce tenderness?
- US /ˈtɛn.dɚ.nɪs/
- UK /ˈtɛn.də.nɪs/
Tenderness has 3 syllables, split ten·der·ness in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-tenderness.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of tenderness
- tendernesses plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does tenderness mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Quality, state or condition of being tender.
He picked her up in his arms with great tenderness.
- 2
A tendency to express warm, compassionate feelings.
When the lovers were together, their cold indifference gave way to love and tenderness.
- 3
A concern for the feelings or welfare of others.
When they saw the poor orphans, they were overwhelmed with tenderness for them.
- 4
A pain or discomfort when an affected area is touched.
He noted her extreme tenderness when he touched the bruise on her thigh.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Tenderness in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | tendresse , tendreté |
| German | Zärtlichkeit |
| Portuguese | ternura |
| Spanish | ternura, terneza |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does tenderness come from?
From tender + -ness.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).