softhearted
Britishadjective
Other Word Forms
Explanation
If you're softhearted, you're extremely caring and considerate—maybe even a little too much. Softhearted people generally make better kindergarten teachers than professional boxers. A softhearted car salesperson might give a discount to a buyer who doesn't have much money, and a softhearted teacher may give you an extra day to finish your project if you're feeling overworked in your other classes. The opposite of softhearted is hardhearted or heartless. A hardhearted person might walk right past a lost, crying child, while a softhearted person will probably stop and try to help.
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.
Rather, as with her other novels, there’s a softhearted universalism to Lalami’s treatment of surveillance capitalism.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2025
What made the episode especially surprising was that Koolhaas, hardly known for a sentimental or softhearted streak, agreed to speak to The New York Times for an article announcing the split.
From New York Times ● Sep. 4, 2023
Gene Takavic is simply the frosting around several layers surrounding a softhearted center – and we all know that the center is the best part.
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2022
Weak but wealthy, smart but softhearted, Tyrion’s ever-variable status was a microcosm of the instability of the Seven Kingdoms.
From Slate ● Apr. 11, 2019
“Yes, you all love something, softhearted as you are,” he said.
From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke
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.
