break someone's heart


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ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Verb1.break someone's heart - cause deep emotional pain and grief to somebody; "The young man broke the girl's heart when he told her was going to marry her best friend"
anguish, pain, hurt - cause emotional anguish or make miserable; "It pains me to see my children not being taught well in school"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations

heart

(haːt) noun
1. the organ which pumps blood through the body. How fast does a person's heart beat?; (also adjective) heart disease; a heart specialist.
2. the central part. I live in the heart of the city; in the heart of the forest; the heart of a lettuce; Let's get straight to the heart of the matter/problem.
3. the part of the body where one's feelings, especially of love, conscience etc are imagined to arise. She has a kind heart; You know in your heart that you ought to go; She has no heart (= She is not kind).
4. courage and enthusiasm. The soldiers were beginning to lose heart.
5. a symbol supposed to represent the shape of the heart; a white dress with little pink hearts on it; heart-shaped.
6. one of the playing-cards of the suit hearts, which have red symbols of this shape on them.
-hearted
kind-hearted; hard-hearted; broken-hearted.
ˈhearten verb
to encourage or cheer up. We were greatly heartened by the good news.
ˈheartless adjective
cruel; very unkind. a heartless remark.
ˈheartlessly adverb
ˈheartlessness noun
hearts noun plural
(sometimes treated as noun singular) one of the four card suits. the two of hearts.
ˈhearty adjective
1. very friendly. a hearty welcome.
2. enthusiastic. a hearty cheer.
3. very cheerful; too cheerful. a hearty person/laugh.
4. (of meals) large. He ate a hearty breakfast.
5. (of a person's appetite) large.
ˈheartily adverb
ˈheartiness noun
ˈheartache noun
(a feeling of) great sadness.
heart attack
a sudden failure of the heart to function correctly, sometimes causing death. My father has had a slight heart attack.
ˈheartbeat noun
(the sound of) the regular movement of the heart.
ˈheartbreak noun
(something which causes) great sorrow. I have suffered many heartbreaks in my life.
ˈheartbroken adjective
feeling very great sorrow. a heartbroken widow.
ˈheartburn noun
a burning feeling in the chest caused by indigestion. She suffers from heartburn after meals.
heart failure
the sudden stopping of the heart's beating. the old man died of heart failure.
ˈheartfelt adjective
sincere. heartfelt thanks.
ˌheart-to-ˈheart adjective
open and sincere, usually in private. I'm going to have a heart-to-heart talk with him.
noun
an open and sincere talk, usually in private. After our heart-to-heart I felt more cheerful.
ˈheart-warming adjective
causing a person to feel pleasure. It was heart-warming to see the happiness of the children.
at heart
really; basically. He seems rather stern but he is at heart a very kind man.
break someone's heart
to cause someone great sorrow. If you leave her, it'll break her heart.
by heart
from memory; by memorizing. The children know their multiplication tables by heart; Actors must learn their speeches (off) by heart.
from the bottom of one's heart
very sincerely. She thanked him from the bottom of her heart.
have a change of heart
to change a decision etc, usually to a better, kinder one. He's had a change of heart – he's going to help us after all.
have a heart!
show some pity!.
have at heart
to have a concern for or interest in. He has the interest of his workers at heart.
heart and soul
with all one's attention and energy. She devoted herself heart and soul to caring for her husband.
lose heart
to become discouraged.
not have the heart to
not to want or be unkind enough to (do something unpleasant). I don't have the heart to tell him that everyone laughed at his suggestions.
set one's heart on / have one's heart set on
to want very much. He had set his heart on winning the prize; He had his heart set on winning.
take heart
to become encouraged or more confident.
take to heart
1. to be made very sad or upset by. You mustn't take his unkind remarks to heart.
2. to pay attention to. He's taken my criticism to heart – his work has improved.
to one's heart's content
as much as one wants. She could play in the big garden to her heart's content.
with all one's heart
very willingly or sincerely. I hope with all my heart that you will be happy.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
References in periodicals archive ?
I've said it lots of times on this page - it's never easy to break someone's heart. There really is no way of dumping your partner and feeling great about it (unless they're abusive, of course).
Coleen say I'VE SAID it lots of times on this page - it's never easy to break someone's heart. There really is no way of dumping your partner and feeling great about it (unless they're abusive, of course).
I'm not good at being honest when I know its going to break someone's heart," the Daily Express quoted him as saying.