slack vs tender

slack

adj
  • Weak; not holding fast. 

  • Moderately warm. 

  • Vulgar; sexually explicit, especially in dancehall music. 

  • Not active or busy, successful, or violent. 

  • Excess; surplus to requirements. 

  • Lax; not tense; not firmly extended. 

  • Lacking diligence or care; not earnest or eager. 

  • Lax. 

  • Moderate in speed. 

adv
  • Slackly. 

verb
  • To slacken. 

  • To lose cohesion or solidity by a chemical combination with water; to slake. 

noun
  • Unconditional listening attention given by client to patient. 

  • A temporary speed restriction where track maintenance or engineering work is being carried out at a particular place. 

  • A tidal marsh or shallow that periodically fills and drains. 

  • The part of anything that hangs loose, having no strain upon it. 

  • Small coal; coal dust. 

  • A valley, or small, shallow dell. 

tender

adj
  • Physically weak; not able to endure hardship. 

  • Easily bruised or injured; not firm or hard; delicate. 

  • Heeling over too easily when under sail; said of a vessel. 

  • Sensible to impression and pain; easily pained. 

  • Soft and easily chewed. 

  • Apt to give pain; causing grief or pain; delicate. 

  • Sensitive or painful to the touch. 

  • Fond, loving, gentle, or sweet. 

  • Adapted to excite feeling or sympathy; expressive of the softer passions; pathetic. 

  • Young and inexperienced. 

verb
  • to offer a payment, as at sales or auctions. 

  • To offer, to give. 

  • To work on a tender. 

adv
  • tenderly 

noun
  • Any offer or proposal made for acceptance. 

  • A smaller boat used for transportation between a large ship and the shore. 

  • A formal offer to buy or sell something. 

  • A railroad car towed behind a steam engine to carry fuel and water. 

  • A naval ship that functions as a mobile base for other ships. 

  • A means of payment such as a check or cheque, cash or credit card. 

  • Anything which is offered, proffered, put forth or bid with the expectation of a response, answer, or reply. 

  • The inner flight muscle (pectoralis minor) of poultry. 

How often have the words slack and tender occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )