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tenderhearted

tenderhearted

1 3.1
Kind and quick to feel sorry for people who are sad
  • adjective
  • /ˈtɛndərˌhɑrtɪd/
translation icon : bondadoso
  • The tenderhearted volunteers comforted the animals at the shelter with gentle affection.
  • tenderhearted person
  • too tenderhearted
  • so tenderhearted

Examples

  • This reality cannot be denied, despite the understandable sensitivities that such a conclusion provokes among the tenderhearted in the West and some of the former leaders of the defeated side.

    Academic text (1992)
  • Underneath her burgundy hair and skin-tight minidress, she was actually a sweet, tenderhearted girl.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • God, how much I cried when I was a kid too, how tenderhearted I was, Walt thinks.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • Nobody sees it, but he's tenderhearted, you know. "I know."

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Oh, you're fine and decent and tenderhearted.

  • How could a tenderhearted woman not succumb in pity and love to his need?

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Bless you, she's the most tenderhearted little creature alive.

  • You are so tenderhearted.

  • Tenderhearted readers, unaccustomed to the scientific norm, might have thought I was awfully hard on Roger.

    Blog text (17)
  • I admired other things as well, for Illimar appeared unusually tenderhearted and doleful, and Asta had to reassure him with discreet pats.

    Fiction book (1993)

Synonyms

kind
vstenderhearted
534 1.0

Being helpful and caring toward other people

focuses more on tender sympathy than broad helpful behavior
sympathetic
vstenderhearted
152 3.4

Feeling or showing kindness and understanding to someone who is upset

puts stronger emphasis on gentle compassion rather than just understanding
tender
vstenderhearted
110 1.6

Showing care and kindness in a gentle way

stresses compassionate sympathy more than direct emotional warmth
humane
vstenderhearted
90 3.4

Showing kindness and care to people or animals to avoid suffering

expresses personal gentle care rather than formal humanitarian concern
kindly
vstenderhearted
11 1.0

Being gentle and caring to other people

centers more on sensitive compassion than general goodwill
kind-hearted
vstenderhearted
9 2.5

A person who cares about others and often helps them

is more about delicate sympathy than general helpfulness
sweet-natured
vstenderhearted
2 3.2

Kind and gentle toward others

is more focused on active sympathy than just pleasantness
softhearted
vstenderhearted
1 3.4

A person who feels sorry for others and helps them

is gently caring but not necessarily easily emotionally affected
warmhearted
vstenderhearted
1 3.7

Kind and friendly to other people

leans more toward quiet sympathy than overt friendliness
openhearted
vstenderhearted
1 4.1

Shows kindness and honesty, sharing feelings with others

centres on quiet compassion rather than emotional openness
largehearted
vstenderhearted
4.1

Showing kindness and generosity by helping or forgiving others

focuses more narrowly on gentle sympathy than on generosity
greathearted
vstenderhearted
  • Literature
8.2

Being kind and generous and ready to forgive and help others

expresses tender sympathy more than large scale generosity

Antonyms

522 2.7

Willing to cause pain or suffering to others

heartless
  • Offensive
79 4.1

Not showing kindness or sympathy to others

How Compassionate

empathetic
30 4.4
compassionate
151 3.7
tenderhearted
1 3.1
kind
534 1.0

Surface Forms

tenderhearted positive

Morphology

tenderhearted = tender + hearted (transparent) = tender + heart + ed

The formation is interpretable as 'having a tender heart' (tender + hearted), a directly understandable compound.

Etymology

Tenderhearted combines tender ('soft' or 'gentle') and heart ('feelings'), so it paints a picture of someone with a 'soft heart' who easily shows sympathy and care.