-hearted

Hearted is used in compound words to mean “having a specific type of personality or trait.” The word that precedes hearted indicates the type of personality or trait, as in hardhearted or warm-hearted.

Hearted can also be used by itself to mean “present in the heart,” but this usage is very rare.

Example: Tim’s so kindhearted that he gave his coat to a homeless man on his walk home today.

Hearted is an old word, originating in Middle English and first recorded in English around 1200. It has had several meanings throughout the years. Obsolete meanings include “wise” (1400s), “courageous” (1500s), and “heart-shaped” (1700s–1800s). A fairly rare modern sense of hearted is used to describe vegetables that have an inner compact part called a heart, such as cabbage.

Most commonly, however, hearted refers to a human heart. In English, heart is used not only to refer to the literal organ but also for a wide range of figurative meanings. Usually, these refer to the emotional center of a person or to a person’s overall personality. It’s this meaning of hearted that can be paired with all sorts of adjectives, both positive or negative, to produce adjectives that describe a person or an action. A person can be cold-hearted (cruel) or warm-hearted (kind), tender-hearted (compassionate) or hardhearted (unfeeling or unmerciful), lighthearted (carefree) or sad-hearted (sorrowful). (As you can see, use of a hyphen varies.)

You can also use these derived adjectives to create adverbs by adding -ly, as in She told me cold-heartedly that she never wanted to see me again.

What are some other forms of hearted?

• heartedly (adverb)

What are some synonyms for hearted?

• natured

What are some words that share a root or word element with hearted?

• heartening
• heartbroken
• heartfelt

What are some words that often get used in discussing hearted?

• kind
• soft
• big
• personality

When used to describe a personality or action, hearted is always used in combination with another word. In all cases, it refers to the popular notion of the heart as the center of human emotion.

May you get married to someone who is kindhearted, someone who will never stop nor get tired of choosing you in all circumstances.

— Nuha (@SheASunflower) February 3, 2020

I'm sorry if it seems hard-hearted but I'll save my compassion and empathy for the voiceless who are hurting not those who use their voice to hurt others.

— Angela🏳️‍🌈 (@ducgummybuns) February 3, 2020

I love watching beloved characters from my childhood get old and die in sequels! I can not fully enjoy the adventure of a lighthearted action hero until I see their coffin lowered into the ground!

— Lyle Rath (@LyleRath) January 30, 2020

Is hearted used correctly in the following sentence?

We are looking for a teacher who is very kindness-hearted.