tenderfoot

ten·der·foot

T t

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [ten-der-foo t]
- /ˈtɛn dərˌfʊt/
- /ˈten.də.fʊt/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [ten-der-foo t]
- /ˈtɛn dərˌfʊt/

Definitions of tenderfoot word

noun plural tenderfoot a raw, inexperienced person; novice. 1
noun plural tenderfoot a newcomer to the ranching and mining regions of the western U.S., unused to hardships. 1
noun plural tenderfoot one in the lowest rank of the Boy Scouts of America or Girl Scouts of America. 1
countable noun tenderfoot A tenderfoot is a newcomer to a place or activity, especially a newcomer to the mines or ranches of the western United States. 0
noun tenderfoot a newcomer, esp to the mines or ranches of the southwestern US 0
noun tenderfoot (formerly) a beginner in the Scouts or Guides 0

See all 9 definitions of tenderfoot

Information block about the term

Origin of tenderfoot

First appearance:

before 1840

One of the 33% newest English words

An Americanism dating back to 1840-50; tender1 + foot

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Tenderfoot

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Tenderfoot

tenderfoot popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 55% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

This word is included in each student's vocabulary. Most likely there is at least one movie with this word in the title.

tenderfoot usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for tenderfoot

noun tenderfoot

abecedarian — a person who is learning the alphabet or the rudiments of a subject
amateur — An amateur is someone who does something as a hobby and not as a job.
apprentice — An apprentice is a young person who works for someone in order to learn their skill.
beginner — A beginner is someone who has just started learning to do something and cannot do it very well yet.
blow in — to arrive or enter suddenly

adj tenderfoot

callow — A callow young person has very little experience or knowledge of the way they should behave as an adult.
dilettante — a person who takes up an art, activity, or subject merely for amusement, especially in a desultory or superficial way; dabbler.
green — of the color of growing foliage, between yellow and blue in the spectrum: green leaves.
half cocked — to set the hammer of (a firearm) at half cock.
half-cocked — (of a firearm) at the position of half cock.

adjective tenderfoot

girllike — Resembling a girl.
jellybean — a small, bean-shaped, usually brightly colored candy with a hard sugar coating and a firm gelatinous filling.
newish — rather new.
young — being in the first or early stage of life or growth; youthful; not old: a young woman.

All 41 Synonyms of tenderfoot