TEN-durd
/ˈtɛndɚd/
tendered is pronounced TEN-durd (/ˈtɛndɚd/). Tendered is the past tense of tender, meaning to present or offer something formally for acceptance, often in a bid, proposal, or payment context. It can also mean rendered or expressed in a particular form. In usage, tendered commonly appears in legal, financial, and formal business writing, signaling that an offer or document has been submitted and thus is now under consideration or in effect.
Tendered is the past tense of tender, meaning to present or offer something formally for acceptance, often in a bid, proposal, or payment context. It can also mean rendered or expressed in a particular form. In usage, tendered commonly appears in legal, financial, and formal business writing, signaling that an offer or document has been submitted and thus is now under consideration or in effect.
- You may insert an extra vowel between /t/ and /n/ like /tɛn.də.nəd/; keep /tɛn.dɚd/ with a tight /d/ after the reduced vowel. - Avoid overemphasizing the final /ed/; keep it as a light /d/ after /ɚ/ or /ə/. - Don’t stress the second syllable too much; keep the first syllable stressed and the second unstressed or lightly reduced. Practice the sequence: /t/ /ɛn/ /d/ /ɚ/ /d/ quickly.
"The committee tendered a formal proposal to the vendor."
"He tendered his resignation before the board meeting."
"The government advertised the contract and accepted tenders from bidders."
/ˈtɛn.dɚd/ in US and UK. The first syllable is stressed: TEN, with a short open vowel /ɛ/. The second syllable uses a schwa-ish r-colored vowel /ɚ/ (US) or a reduced /ə/ before the final /d/. Final consonant is a voiced alveolar /d/; the sequence 'ered' compresses to /-ɚd/. In rapid speech, you might hear /ˈtɛn.dɚd/ with a subtle flap or a softer /-ɹd/ depending on dialect. Mouth position: lip relaxed, tongue tip near the alveolar ridge for /n/ and /d/, central vowel for /ɚ/.
Common errors: over-enunciating the -ed as two syllables, giving a heavy /-ed/ (/ˈtɛn.dɜːd/). Another mistake is misplacing stress as TEN-duhd or TEN-derd with a strong /ɹ/ before d. Correction: keep stress on the first syllable, reduce the second syllable to a short /ɚ/ (US) or /ə/; end with a clear /d/ without a preceding extra vowel. Practice the sequence /t/ + /ɛn/ + /d/ + /ɚ/ + /d/ in quick succession, letting the middle glide compress slightly.
US: /ˈtɛn.dɚd/ with rhotic /ɚ/ in the second syllable and a clearly pronounced /d/. UK: /ˈten.də d/ or /ˈten.dəd/; may reduce the /ɚ/ to /ə/, and the final /d/ can be lighter in rapid speech. AU: /ˈten.dɜːd/ or /ˈten.dəd/, with a slightly more centralized vowel in the second syllable and less rhoticity; final /d/ can be softer, sometimes a tap in informal speech. Overall, rhotic influence and vowel quality vary, but the first syllable remains stressed.
The difficulty lies in the sequence of a closed syllable junction: /t/ to /ɛn/ to /d/ to a rhotic or reduced vowel /ɚ/ or /ə/ before the final /d/. Two common issues: vowel reduction in the second syllable and the clustering /dɚd/ or /dəd/; speakers often insert an extra vowel or mispronounce the final /d/. Focus on maintaining a clean, quick /d/ after a short /ɚ/ or /ə/ and keep the first syllable crisp.
No silent letters in tendered; every letter contributes to a spoken sound, with the second syllable featuring a reduced vowel. The challenge is balancing the /d/ after a reduced vowel and ensuring the /t/ remains aspirated but not overemphasized. The key is smooth yoke between /t/ and /ɛ/ and subsequent /n/ before the /d/.
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Tendered derives from the verb tender. The root is Old French tender (to stretch, hold out, offer) from Latin tendere (to stretch, extend). By the 12th–14th centuries English adopted tender with the sense of presenting or offering something for acceptance. The past participle tendered emerged as the standard past tense form in the legal and commercial registers, where precise offers, bids, or payments are formally submitted. Over time, tendered has broadened to mean any thing that has been offered or submitted in a formal manner, not only financial bids, but proposals, documents, or stipulations, especially within contracts and auctions. First known uses appear in medieval legal charters and merchant records, evolving through early modern legal diction into contemporary business English where tendered items or documents signify formal submission. The word’s legal gravitas is closely tied to its sense of formality and obligation, making it a common term in tenders, bids, and procurement language.
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Words that rhyme with "tendered"
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