intenerate

intenerate

English

Etymology

Latin intenerō, from tener (“tender”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪnˈtɛnəɹeɪt/

Verb

intenerate (third-person singular simple present intenerates, present participle intenerating, simple past and past participle intenerated)

1. (transitive) To soften; tenderize.
   • 1637, Joseph Hall, The Remedy of Profaneness

     Fear intenerates the heart.

   • a. 1667, Jeremy Taylor, “Of Growth in Sin”, in The Whole Works of the Right Rev. Jeremy Taylor, volume IV, new edition, London: Longman et al., published 1850:

     So have I seen the little purls of a stream […] intenerate the stubborn pavement.

   • 1953, Samuel Beckett, Watt, Olympia Press:

     Unable to resist these intenerating considerations, his regrets, lively at first, melt at last, melt quite away and pass over, softly, into the celebrated conviction that all is well, or at least for the best.

Related terms

• inteneration

Anagrams

• entertaine