not have the heart to

Idioms  

1. Be unable to bring oneself to say or do something, as in He didn't have the heart to tell her the cat had died. [Mid-1600s] Also see have a heart.

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Example Sentences

Deontay Wilder believes Anthony Joshua does not "have the heart" to fight him, but says a bout between the former heavyweight world champions is closer than it ever has been.

From BBC

Murphy the bald eagle waited day after day in his modest, yet carefully built nest for his one egg to hatch, but his keepers did not have the heart to break the news to him: The 31-year-old flightless bachelor was sitting on a rock.

From New York Times

George said the children were so hungry he did not have the heart to keep any for himself, and there was nothing else to eat that evening in the camp, a secondary school building in Rivers State, one of 32 Nigerian states hit by catastrophic floods.

From Reuters

Meanwhile, she said she did not have the heart to tell the family because they were "so down and so desperate".

From BBC

Algerians “do not have the heart to vote when for the majority of them the daily bread and the carton of milk becomes problematic for them, because of the collapse of purchasing power,” said sociologist Nasser Djabbi.

From Seattle Times