hearty
Americanadjective
-
heartier,
comparative
-
heartiest
superlative
-
warm-hearted; affectionate; cordial; jovial.
a hearty welcome.
-
genuine; sincere; heartfelt.
hearty approval; hearty dislike.
-
completely devoted; wholehearted.
hearty support.
-
exuberant; unrestrained.
hearty laughter.
-
violent; forceful.
a hearty push; a hearty kick.
-
physically vigorous; strong and well.
hale and hearty.
-
substantial; abundant; nourishing.
a hearty meal.
-
enjoying or requiring abundant food.
a hearty appetite.
-
(of soil) fertile.
noun
-
hearties
plural
-
a brave or good fellow, especially with reference to a shipmate.
-
a sailor.
adjective
-
warm and unreserved in manner or behaviour
-
vigorous and enthusiastic
a hearty slap on the back
-
sincere and heartfelt
hearty dislike
-
healthy and strong (esp in the phrase hale and hearty )
-
substantial and nourishing
noun
-
a comrade, esp a sailor
-
a vigorous sporting man
a rugby hearty
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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heartinessnoun
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overheartinessnoun
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superheartinessnoun
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overheartyadjective
-
quasi-heartyadjective
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superheartyadjective
-
unheartyadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of hearty
First recorded in 1350–1400, hearty is from the Middle English word herti. See heart, -y 1
Explanation
Hearty describes abundant, full, and satisfying things, and lively, strong, and enthusiastic people. A bowl of thick chili with cheese and a glass of milk is hearty. A spoon of water with a grape? Not so hearty. You can't miss the "heart" in hearty. Words like "wholehearted" and "half-hearted" also have "heart" and are a help in remembering the adjective hearty. If you put your whole heart into anything from walking a dog to saying good morning to your friends, you're hearty and full of life. Something half-hearted is weak and not hearty. A loud laugh that fills a room is very hearty; you can almost feel its fullness. If it comes from the heart and adds well-being and happiness, it's probably hearty.
Vocabulary lists containing hearty
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 5
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The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
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100 Great Words from "Fahrenheit 451" -- Part I Vocabulary
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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.
See Examples For:
Red wine vinegar is wonderful with hearty lentil, bean and farro soups, and I love it in beef stew.
From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026
“We brought Nikki to where it all began, and she feels good in here,” Navarrette tells me with a hearty chuckle at the space that’s become a destination for “Obsession” obsessives.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026
Between games of table tennis and cheap, hearty lunches, the group remembers a vibrant town, full of people and shops they wanted to go to.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
For centuries, they have dished up wine from the surrounding vineyards to wash down typically hearty central European fare.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
Our poor stomachs weren’t used to such hearty food.
From "Prisoner B-3087" by Alan Gratz
In the perennial war between the aesthetes and the hearties, the hearties do not always win.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 10, 2012
On the first reading I overdid the "Oooh-arr me hearties" piratical voice, on the grounds that if you can't camp things up reading to your children at bedtime there's no point going on.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 3, 2011
Right then me hearties, we are under way for the second half.
From BBC ● Jan. 24, 2010
This time they were on hand with an obviously much improved Gretel II and a crew of towering hearties headed by Veteran Blue-water Skipper James Hardy, 37.
From Time Magazine Archive
When he heard them stir he clapped his hands, and cried: ‘Hey! Come merry dol! derry dol! My hearties!’
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
But as you move inland and north — into Abruzzo, Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy, Friuli-Venezia Giulia — winter cooking becomes heartier, more restrained, and deeply tied to survival.
From Salon ● Jan. 24, 2026
After the holidays, top the salad with a runny fried egg for a heartier meal evocative of its bistro roots.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 22, 2023
Daniel was “jumping up and down” when she read the administration’s proposal to raise wages and add heartier benefits for Head Start staff.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 21, 2023
Kowalski would squeeze them into rehydrated soup to make meals heartier.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 19, 2023
And so I went to work each day in the quarry, a bone-breaking job that killed heartier men than me, and waited to die.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
Seven years later to the day, former “Saturday Night Live” star Pete Davidson marked the anniversary of Khashoggi’s killing by slinging some of his heartiest har-hars at the Bakr al-Sheddi Theater.
From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2025
The heartiest proto–quantum computers today boast hundreds of qubits, far short of the millions or billions they will probably need to operate error-free.
From Science Magazine ● Dec. 20, 2023
The heartiest entree starts with a basic notion, lasagna, and deploys bechamel, black trumpet mushrooms and wild boar to enrich layers of tender egg noodles.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 8, 2022
Andrei Tarkovsky is a name that can put a chill through even the heartiest of arthouse adventurers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 4, 2018
As if no one knew what to do in the face of such tragedy except to make the heaviest, heartiest, most prosaic dish they could, to give the bereaved something solid to hold on to.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
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.
