firm vs tender

firm

verb
  • To make firm or strong; fix securely. 

  • To become firm; stabilise. 

  • To improve after decline. 

  • To make compact or resistant to pressure; solidify. 

  • To shorten (of betting odds). 

  • To select (a higher education institution) as one's preferred choice, so as to enrol automatically if one's grades match the conditional offer. 

noun
  • A criminal gang, especially based around football hooliganism. 

  • A business partnership; the name under which it trades. 

  • A business enterprise, however organized. 

adj
  • Durable, rigid (material state) 

  • Fixed (in opinion). 

  • Insistent upon something, not accepting dissent. 

  • Steadfast, secure, solid (in position) 

tender

verb
  • To work on a tender. 

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

  • To offer, to give. 

adv
  • tenderly 

adj
  • 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. 

  • Physically weak; not able to endure hardship. 

  • 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. 

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 firm and tender occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )