Mean
Mean adjective - Having or showing a desire to cause someone pain or suffering for the sheer enjoyment of it.
Usage example: a mean, embittered old woman who wanted company for her misery
Tender
Tender adjective - Having or marked by sympathy and consideration for others.
Usage example: an especially tender teacher who loves having kids with special educational needs in her class
How words are described
Both words in one sentence
- Now, that movie takes place in an alternate timeline, but since the two timelines diverged on the day of Kirk's birth, it would mean that even in the original one, currency was still legal tender at least until that day.
Source: Retcon / Live-Action TV -
In the Italian dub, it was translated as "tenera", which can mean cute, cuddly, soft, or tender.
Source: Disney / Zootopia -
Pet the Dog: A kind act reveals that an outwardly mean character is tender and caring inside.
Source: Just For Fun / Tropes of Legend
Cite this Source
Tender and Mean. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 08, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/mean/tender
Mean & Tender. N.p., 2016. Web. 08 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/mean/tender>.
Tender or Mean. 2016. Accessed August 08, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/mean/tender.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "mean" and "tender" have occurred on timeline