The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms - tender° n.

1) dinghy, gig, skiff, launch, boat, row-boat or rowing-boat, jolly-boat: The yacht moved easily through the water towing a tender. 2) wagon, truck, vehicle: The tender of Felix's toy train was filled with sweets for his birthday. TENDER° adj. 1) sensitive, delicate, fragile, frail, infirm, unstable, shaky, weak, feeble, unwell, sickly, ailing, unsound: His condition is still a bit too tender for him to go outside. 2) chewable, edible, eatable, soft: The steak will become more tender if it is marinated. 3) young, youthful, immature, juvenile, inexperienced, impressionable, vulnerable, green, new, raw, undeveloped, untrained, uninitiated, callow: At his tender age he could not have known about such things. 4) sensitive, touchy, ticklish, dangerous, troublesome, provocative, difficult, tricky: Please avoid mentioning the wedding, it's a tender subject around here. 5) gentle, soft, delicate, light, sensitive, soothing: Oh, how he yearned for her tender touch at his fevered brow. 6) kind, kind-hearted, loving, affectionate, fond, gentle, mild, compassionate, considerate, humane, benevolent, sympathetic, feeling, thoughtful, soft-hearted, warm, caring, merciful, solicitous, tender-hearted, warm-hearted, good-natured: Wounded and helpless, he succumbed to the tender care of the nurses. 7) touching, emotional, moving, stirring, soul-stirring, heart-rending, heartfelt, passionate, impassioned, impassionate, poignant, sentimental, mawkish, maudlin: Who could forget the tender scene as Cedric bade farewell to his mother and went off to war? 8 sore, raw, painful, sensitive, inflamed; smarting, burning, hurting, aching, agonizing: This spot, right here, is so tender that it hurts just to think about it. 9) loving, affectionate, amatory, amorous, adoring, romantic: They exchanged tender, knowing looks.