kindhearted
Americanadjective
Related Words
See kind 1.
Other Word Forms
- kindheartedly adverb
- kindheartedness noun
- unkindhearted adjective
Etymology
Origin of kindhearted
Explanation
If you're kindhearted, you're a considerate and empathetic person. When someone loses their home in a fire, their kindhearted neighbors will pitch in to help them. Kindhearted is almost a synonym of kind, but it implies an even deeper layer of sympathy and compassion. A truly kindhearted reaction to seeing someone who's lost or in trouble is to stop and help them. It's kindhearted to welcome new people to your community, to give money to someone who needs it, or to offer your subway seat to someone who looks tired. Your very favorite people are probably the ones who are most kindhearted.
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 ordinary staff—duty officers in blue shirts, or medics in scrubs—could be kindhearted and seemed disengaged from the revolutionary ideals of their government, former prisoners say.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026
What “Black Dahlia” ultimately imprints on its readers is Short’s vulnerability and desperation, someone more restless than “man-crazy,” more kindhearted than “cold.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 26, 2026
Pretti's parents said in a statement he was "a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends."
From Barron's • Jan. 25, 2026
Johnny Depp, making another appearance in this book, plays the title character, “born” with scissors for hands, who comes down from his castle to live with the kindhearted Boggs family.
From Salon • Nov. 26, 2025
Siddhartha became impatient at losses, he lost his patience with slow-paying debtors, he was no longer kindhearted to beggars, he no longer had the desire to give gifts and loans to the poor.
From "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse
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.
