soft-hearted

A soft-hearted teacher helps a student tie their shoe.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Easily moved to sympathy or compassion: "soft-hearted" describes a person who is gentle, kind, and readily feels pity or tenderness toward others, often leading them to be generous or forgiving.

Usage Examples

• (She is easily moved to help because she feels compassion.)
• (The teacher showed kindness and forgiveness.)

Advanced Usage

• "to be soft-hearted toward someone": to show compassion or leniency specifically in relation to a person.

  • He is soft-hearted toward animals and always adopts strays. (He feels pity and kindness for animals.)

• "a soft-hearted decision": a choice made out of sympathy rather than strict logic or rules.

  • The judge made a soft-hearted decision to reduce the fine. (The decision was based on compassion, not strict enforcement.)

Variants and Related Words

• Soft-heartedness (noun): the quality of being easily moved to sympathy or compassion.

  • Her soft-heartedness made her a beloved figure in the community. (Her tendency to feel pity and kindness was admired.)

• Hard-hearted (adj): the opposite of soft-hearted; lacking sympathy or compassion.

Synonyms

• Tender-hearted: having a gentle, sympathetic nature.
• Kind-hearted: naturally kind and generous.
• Compassionate: feeling or showing sympathy for others' suffering.

Antonyms

• Cold-hearted: lacking warmth or sympathy.
• Unfeeling: without emotion or compassion.

Related Idioms

• To have a heart of gold: to be very kind and generous.

  • Even though he seems tough, he has a heart of gold. (He is fundamentally kind and soft-hearted.)

• To wear one's heart on one's sleeve: to openly show one's emotions, including compassion.

  • She wears her heart on her sleeve, always ready to help. (She is openly emotional and soft-hearted.)