tenderly

comparative more tenderly · superlative most tenderly

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 parting

   Fanny Hill

   1749, [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

   2 more examples

   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

   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 tenderly

   2019, “Sinking”, performed by Clairo