as in prone
having a tendency to be or act in a certain way
people tending toward daily exercise will significantly reduce their risk of cardiac arrest
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in leaning
to show a liking or proneness (for something)
her wardrobe tends toward dark colors and heavy fabrics
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in supervising
to take charge of especially on behalf of another
tend the store while I run an errand
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in growing
to look after or assist the growth of by labor and care
lately I haven't been doing a good job of tending my garden
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in cultivating
to work by plowing, sowing, and raising crops on
plots that during the war were tended by city dwellers as vegetable gardens
Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in managing
to look after and make decisions about
the dying patriarch wondered who would tend the family business after he was gone
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tending
Drew Pittock, USA Today, 20 May 2026
Why does tending to, holding space for and acknowledging organizational grief matter?
—Sohee Jun, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026
But tending to two people reveals the fine line between freedom and precarity.
—Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 16 May 2026
Eatherly asks a paramedic tending to his wounds.
—Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 14 May 2026
This convenient setup makes planting, potting, and tending to your plants a breeze, all while offering easy access to your garden.
—Macie Stump, Southern Living, 13 May 2026
Pitching coach Ruben Niebla is tending to a family matter and is expected to return to the team for tomorrow’s series finale here.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 May 2026
Another adjustment on set was with his daughter played by Toscano tending to follow his hands as Insolera communicated using sign language, rather than look into his eyes.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 11 May 2026
Barbara still teaches French via Zoom, and John is tending to her needs.
—Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2026
Verb
As head of the military in the 1980s, Raúl began delegating jobs to his soldiers outside the battlefield, including tending plots of land to increase produce and livestock production.
—Drew Pittock, USA Today, 20 May 2026
Why does tending to, holding space for and acknowledging organizational grief matter?
—Sohee Jun, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026
But tending to two people reveals the fine line between freedom and precarity.
—Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 16 May 2026
Eatherly asks a paramedic tending to his wounds.
—Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 14 May 2026
This convenient setup makes planting, potting, and tending to your plants a breeze, all while offering easy access to your garden.
—Macie Stump, Southern Living, 13 May 2026
Pitching coach Ruben Niebla is tending to a family matter and is expected to return to the team for tomorrow’s series finale here.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 May 2026
Another adjustment on set was with his daughter played by Toscano tending to follow his hands as Insolera communicated using sign language, rather than look into his eyes.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 11 May 2026
Barbara still teaches French via Zoom, and John is tending to her needs.
—Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tending
Adjective
-
Pawlikowski has never been prone to go long, but at just 82 minutes, Fatherland is as bracing and brief as a polar-bear plunge.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
15 May 2026
-
These cities are building quickly on flood-prone land, financing infrastructure through debt mechanisms that future residents will inherit, and betting that car-dependent sprawl is a durable model for community life.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
Where Soap was straightforwardly in the realm of sitcom—leaning toward broad humor, underlined stylistically by the presence of a laugh track—Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman knew just how to strike that sweet spot between screw-loose absurdity and genuine pathos.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 May 2026
-
These are among the proposals that a cohort of left-leaning congressional Democrats argue will help their party win back working-class voters in the midterm elections and set the stage for success in the 2028 presidential election.—
Riley Beggin,
Washington Post,
17 May 2026
Verb
-
Griswold's office is responsible for supervising Colorado's elections and maintaining the statewide file of voter registrations.—
Aysha Bagchi,
USA Today,
16 May 2026
-
Leaders increasingly must learn how to orchestrate systems rather than simply manage processes—from supervising individual workflows to coordinating intelligent networks, and from controlling static operations to adapting continuously evolving environments.—
Mira Tzur,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
Viola’s reaction spotlighted growing frustration among competitors who believe the ruling body is using procedural fixes to avoid addressing biological differences in girls' sports.—
Alejandro Avila OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
19 May 2026
-
In the growing realization that a four-year-degree alone won’t save them from downward mobility?—
Jay Caspian Kang,
New Yorker,
19 May 2026
Verb
-
The story centers on Zha, a janitor at a bankrupt, long-shuttered film studio who retreats into a virtual world, cultivating an online romance and dreaming of a voyage to the Moon.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
18 May 2026
-
These guerrilla pop-ups launched the heartland quartet – singer Tyson Ritter, lead guitarist Nick Wheeler, rhythm guitarist Mike Kennerty and drummer Chris Gaylor – into a world of TikToks and Instagram posts, simultaneously cultivating a fan base decades younger than the now-middle-aged rockers.—
Melissa Ruggieri,
USA Today,
16 May 2026
Verb
-
If managing cholesterol is a priority, aim to eat one cup of cooked oatmeal per day.—
Kirsten Nunez,
Martha Stewart,
17 May 2026
-
That’s why the younger version of himself — that kid who arrived in NASCAR two decades ago simply wanting to drive race cars —would never have imagined owning a team or managing a company.—
Greg Engle,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2026
Adjective
-
Most models are usually inclined to speculate answers because simply avoiding answering will motivate the users to question the model’s capabilities.—
Mohamed Suliman,
Boston Herald,
15 May 2026
-
Bloomberg’s sources suggested that Apple was happy to partner with OpenAI as its own AI projects failed to launch but over time became less inclined to boost ChatGPT after learning about OpenAI’s plans to make its own device that could rival the iPhone.—
Jonathan M. Gitlin,
ArsTechnica,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
The show’s characters idled away their time watching programs like Years of Our Days to Live.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 May 2026
-
Severe storms are expected Monday evening into overnight across the Kansas City region, and while that’s forecasters’ main concern, the National Weather Service is also watching a conditional chance for a few thunderstorms to pop up near the Kansas-Missouri line mid-afternoon.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
18 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tending. Accessed 22 May. 2026.
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