Older
Older adjective - Being of advanced years and especially past middle age.
Tender
Tender adjective - Easily injured without careful handling.
Both words in one sentence
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They're teenagers, older than some targets of this trope, but definitely fulfill the "suspiciously close and tender female friendship" qualification.
Source: Romantic Two-Girl Friendship -
He's not the oldest, but his older sister Helen was exiled by the Clave and his older brother Mark was kidnapped by the Wild Hunt; therefore when their father died in the war, Julian, at the tender age of twelve, had no other choice but to step up and take care of the rest of the Blackthorn brood.
Source: Literature / The Dark Artifices -
Beth in the opera The Tender Land is a vivacious foil to her older sister.
Source: Cheerful Child
Cite this Source
Tender and Older. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 08, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/older/tender
Older & Tender. N.p., 2016. Web. 08 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/older/tender>.
Tender or Older. 2016. Accessed August 08, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/older/tender.
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