Enternecer

Enternecer is a Portuguese verb that means to move someone emotionally, to cause tenderness, or to soften feelings. It can describe the act of touching someone’s heart or of becoming emotionally pliant. The verb can be used transitively, as in mov­ing a person or audience, and it can also be used reflexively to indicate a person becoming more tender. Its sense is closer to “to touch with pity” or “to melt the heart.”

In usage, enternecer is common in literary, journalistic, and everyday language when describing emotional effects. It often appears with the direct object that is affected, as in a story or scene entering the audience’s heart. Common collocations include enternecer o coração (to melt one’s heart) and enternecer-se (to become moved). Near synonyms are comover and tocar; its antonym is endurecer (to harden).

Conjugation and forms: entercer is a regular -ecer verb. Present indicative: eu enterneço, tu enterneces, ele enternece, nós enternecemos, vós enterneceis, eles enternecem. Pretérito perfeito simples: eu enterneci, tu enterneceste, ele enterneceu, nós enternecemos, vós enternecestes, eles enterneceram. Imperfect: eu enternecia, tu enternecias, ele enternecia, nós enternecíamos, vós enternecíeis, eles enterneciam. Past participle: enternecido (masc.), enternecida; Gerúndio: enternecendo. Reflexive form: enternecer-se (eu enterneço-me, etc.). Derivados comuns incluem enternecedor (algo que provoca emoção) e enternecimento (tato de sentimentalismo).

Etymology: a origem exata é obscura, mas o verbo é formado com o radical enterne- acrescido do sufixo -ecer, característico de muitos verbos de ação em português, com sentidos ligados a provocar ou experimentar a ternura.