take to heart
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Verb (phrasal verb):
- To consider something seriously and be affected by it emotionally: To treat a remark, criticism, or situation with deep personal concern, often allowing it to impact one's feelings or subsequent actions.
- To take something seriously and learn from it: To internalize advice, a lesson, or feedback, applying it earnestly to one's own behavior or outlook.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- She took his criticism to heart and worked hard to improve. (She was deeply affected by his criticism and used it as motivation to improve.)
- You shouldn't take every negative comment to heart. (You should not be overly emotionally affected by every piece of negative feedback.)
- I hope you'll take my advice to heart. (I hope you will consider my advice seriously and act on it.)
Advanced Usage
- "to take something very much to heart": To be extremely affected or troubled by something.
- He took the failure of the project very much to heart. (He was profoundly distressed by the project's failure.)
- Often used in negative constructions or advice to suggest someone is being overly sensitive.
- Don't take it to heart; she didn't mean to offend you. (Don't be upset by it; her intention was not to offend.)
Variants and Related Words
- Take to heart is a fixed phrasal verb. Its meaning is distinct from the individual words or .
- Internalize (verb): To make attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors part of one's nature by learning or unconscious assimilation.
- Children internalize the values of their parents.
- Heed (verb): To pay attention to; to take notice of.
- He failed to heed the warnings.
Synonyms
- Take seriously: To treat a matter as important.
- Be affected by: To be emotionally influenced by something.
- Internalize: To incorporate within oneself.
Related Idioms
- Take something to heart is itself an idiomatic phrasal verb. A related concept is:
- Wear one's heart on one's sleeve: To openly show one's feelings or emotions.
- Because he wears his heart on his sleeve, he tends to take criticism to heart easily. (His open nature makes him susceptible to being hurt by criticism.)
Verb
- get down to; pay attention to; take seriously
- Attend to your duties, please