First recorded in 1930–35; probably most closely associated with the novel Miss Lonelyhearts by Nathanael West (1902?-40)
A lonely-hearts newspaper column or call-in show is for people who are feeling the need for companionship, whether romantic or just friendly, and who are looking for advice about how to find and keep companions. A lonely-hearts club is a group of such people who get together to meet potential companions, or to talk with like-minded folks about their experiences in the area of love and friendship. And a lonely-hearts ad is a notice, online or in print, that someone is looking for a companion. What's a lonely-hearts story? It's a story told or written about such a person and their quest — hopefully with a happy ending.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The hunt and capture of lonely-hearts con artist Richard Scott Smith is at the center of this Showtime thriller.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 16, 2023
Your story “Found Wanting,” which takes place in the early nineteen-nineties, is about a seventeen-year-old Glaswegian boy who has placed a lonely-hearts ad in a magazine.
From The New Yorker ● Jan. 6, 2020
ISIS’s recruitment message promises an idyllic paradise promising inclusion for the excluded, romance for the lonely-hearts, and adventure and heroism for the picked-upon.
From Time ● Aug. 3, 2016
At work, Georg and Amalia detest each other, yet they are anonymous pen pals, writing lonely-hearts letters to each other.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 17, 2016
Anyone who has been to Venice in peak summer recently will know that this rapturous lonely-hearts romance could hardly take place there today.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 1, 2014
Last year, growing reports of “ghosts” returning as “zombies” to haunt the lonely hearts they brushed off long ago prompted the website Datingadvice.com to add “zombieing” to its list of modern dating terms.
From Washington Times ● May 28, 2023
All the lonely hearts commiserate with Bruno Mars on Valentine’s Day.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 14, 2023
So, the best-ruffed males are spoiled with choices, whereas some males end up as lonely hearts with no opportunities to mate.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 14, 2022
Until he met Princess Francois, Andy Estevez felt like the king of lonely hearts.
From New York Times ● Oct. 22, 2021
There are lonely hearts to cherish While the days are going by.
From The Story of the Hymns and Tunes by Brown, Theron
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.
