have the heart to
IdiomsExample Sentences
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When she heard explosions, she ran to her father and asked what was happening, he said, but he did not have the heart to tell her, saying they were fireworks for a wedding.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
Edward Johnson III, the chief executive of investing titan Fidelity, sent a board trustee to deliver a message to his daughter he didn’t have the heart to tell her himself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
We didn’t have the heart to tell him.
From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2025
"I didn't have the heart to tell her that her chances were very, very slim," he said.
From BBC ● Feb. 28, 2025
As annoying as it is that my mother is a liar, I don't have the heart to tell Dad about Uncle Max.
From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
