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soft-hearted

[sawft-hahr-tid, soft-]
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adjective
  1. very sympathetic or responsive; generous in spirit: a soft-hearted judge.
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Origin of soft-hearted

First recorded in 1570–80
Related formssoft-heart·ed·ly, adverbsoft-heart·ed·ness, noun

Synonyms

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tender, kind-hearted.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for softhearted

Historical Examples

  • She was not going into this fight soft-handed or softhearted.

    A Bed of Roses

    W. L. George

  • As a nation, we may take pride in the fact that we are softhearted; but we cannot afford to be soft-headed.

  • I am quite aware that there are lots of softhearted people who will say I ought never to have allowed Danjuro to do what he did.

    The Air Pirate

    Cyril Arthur Edward Ranger Gull

  • But he shall find out that it was only a child, only a silly, softhearted baby he played with down here.

    Robert Elsmere

    Mrs. Humphry Ward

  • On the 28th Grey again expressed one of his softhearted propositions for peace.

British Dictionary definitions for softhearted

softhearted

adjective
  1. easily moved to pity
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Derived Formssoftheartedly, adverbsoftheartedness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for softhearted

soft-hearted

adj.

also softhearted, 1590s, from soft (adj.) "tender" + hearted. Related: Soft-heartedly; soft-heartedness.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper