heartfelt
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of heartfelt
Explanation
If something is heartfelt, it's sincere and warm. It's clear from your elderly neighbor's heartfelt invitation that she genuinely wants you to come over for tea and cookies. When you're profoundly grateful to your favorite teacher, you'll offer her your heartfelt thanks. And when your best friend's dog dies, you'll give him your heartfelt sympathy. Things that are heartfelt are deeply emotional, believed or felt very strongly. The word dates from the 18th century, from heart, with its Old English root heorte, "heart, spirit, or mind."
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.
"I deeply regret it and offer my heartfelt apologies without reservation."
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
Six Flags Over Georgia said it was "deeply saddened by the guest incident at our park today. Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with the guest's family, friends, and loved ones."
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
It attempted to revisit the harmonious, heartfelt sound Messrs. Stills and Young created while members of Buffalo Springfield in the 1960s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
Part of their education, he insists, must be to learn disappointment—an experience this heartfelt novel transmutes into kindness and wisdom.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
If you read and consider it carefully, you will discover in it my most heartfelt desire that you may attain the greatness that Fortune and all your own qualities promise you.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
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.
