tenderly
Americanadverb
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in a soft and gentle way.
He took time to polish his new leather shoes tenderly with his handkerchief.
The wind we hated so much while climbing is now tenderly drying the sweat from our brows.
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in an affectionate, loving, or kindhearted way.
He looked down tenderly at his baby daughter.
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sensitively or carefully, as to avoid pain.
Moving tenderly, she attempted to raise herself from the floor where she had fallen.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of tenderly
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A fragment from a much larger painting, it shows a severe Mary with the small hand of the Christ Child tenderly grazing her cheek.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026
Those concepts interlace in his ossuary, enlivened when he plays his tenderly kept records, remnants of human joy all but lost to a Rage pestilence.
From Salon • Jan. 23, 2026
In September of that year, Wonder appeared on “Soul Train” and spoke tenderly about the singer before performing a medley of “Lovin’ You” and “Perfect Angel’s” title track, which he wrote.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 23, 2025
Andy Byron, chief executive of data-infrastructure company Astronomer Inc., was caught on camera holding human resources chief Kristin Cabot — a woman who is not his wife — tenderly in his arms.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 18, 2025
It interested me, even at that moment, to see, that, whilst the face of white set passion worked convulsively over the bowed head, the hands tenderly and lovingly stroked the ruffled hair.
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
