tender vs tough

tender

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. 

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

  • To offer, to give. 

  • To work on a tender. 

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. 

adv
  • tenderly 

tough

adj
  • Rugged or physically hardy. 

  • Harsh or severe. 

  • Difficult or demanding. 

  • Stubborn or persistent; capable of stubbornness or persistence. 

  • Strong and resilient; sturdy. 

  • Undergoing plastic deformation before breaking. 

  • Difficult to cut or chew. 

  • Rowdy or rough. 

verb
  • To endure. 

  • To toughen. 

intj
  • Used to indicate lack of sympathy 

noun
  • A person who obtains things by force; a thug or bully. 

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