Tenderness

Tenderness is a quality characterized by gentleness, consideration, and affectionate concern for others. It can also describe a physical sensitivity to touch, such as a part of the body that is tender or painful when pressed.

In psychology and everyday use, tenderness refers to warmth and care shown toward others, often expressed through nurturing, empathy, or protective behavior.

In medicine, tenderness is a subjective symptom reported by a patient as pain or discomfort elicited by palpation. Clinically, tenderness can vary in location and intensity and may indicate inflammation, infection, injury, or other conditions. Distinguishing superficial tenderness from deeper, rebound, or referred tenderness can aid diagnosis, but assessment is often complemented by imaging or laboratory tests.

In food science and cooking, tenderness describes the texture of meat or other foods as being easy to chew. Methods to increase tenderness include mechanical breakdown, marination, aging, and proper cooking techniques; conversely, overcooking can reduce tenderness.

The term also appears in literature and art to convey gentle mood or emotional resonance, such as tenderness toward a loved one or toward nature. The word derives from the sense of being soft or easily affected, the opposite of harsh or severe. It is used across disciplines to denote both physical sensitivity and humane consideration.