tenderly
advUS /ˈtɛn.dɚ.li/ · UK /ˈtɛn.də.li/
Etymology From tender + -ly.
1
In a tender manner; gently; sweetly.
- and the hour striking at which I was oblig'd to dispatch my young man, I tenderly advised him of the necessity there was for parting1749, [John Cleland], “(Please specify the letter or volume)”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], London: […] [Thomas Parker] for G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […], →OCLC:
- After a moment of comfortable silence, with Ben tenderly rubbing his thumb gently over the back of her hand, he asked, “So what do you want to do now that you’re all stuffed full of waffley goodness?”2013, Victoria J. Hyla, Running in the Mists (Hearts Drawn Wyld Trilogy; 2), Bloomington, Ind.: AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 300:
1 more example
- Outside is getting colder Why does it feel like I'm older than I asked to be? But when you say my name It all falls away so tenderly2019, “Sinking”, performed by Clairo: