heartwarming
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of heartwarming
First recorded in 1895–1900; heart + warming ( def. )
Explanation
Heartwarming things move and inspire you. If you want to get a job writing greeting cards, you better learn how to write heartwarming messages. When you're sick, little gifts and offers of support from your friends can be heartwarming, and stories that end with lost dogs reunited with their families, or good people living happily ever, after are also heartwarming. The origin of this adjective is fairly obvious: it describes things that "warm," or give a feeling of affection and pleasure to, your heart. A related word is warm-hearted, which dates from the 16th century.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The film is also a deceptively heartwarming ode to self-expression, and the kind of life that can be cobbled together with an unyielding commitment to individuality.
From Salon • Mar. 27, 2026
"I enjoy doing that, but it's also nice to play someone heartwarming and just a really good person overall, so I just enjoy being able to do both."
From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026
Above a muddled Southland college basketball landscape, a heartwarming, heartstopping story has arisen.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 8, 2026
But the joy that little monkey feels for his orangutan, which he uses as shield, surrogate and playmate, is both heartbreaking and heartwarming.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 20, 2026
They didn’t smile or nod or look approvingly at me in that heartwarming way teachers always do in made-for-TV movies when the troubled student has turned over a new leaf.
From "Liar, Liar" by Gary Paulsen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
