What this suffix does
-hearted forms compound adjectives describing someone's emotional character: warmhearted, coldhearted, brokenhearted, wholehearted (fully committed, no reservations).
ESEN
Suffix · forms adjectives
-hearted
Describes someone's emotional character: warmhearted (kind, affectionate) and coldhearted (unfeeling, unkind).
In Spanish: de corazón / con el corazónIntermediate
Written by Bryan López, English teacher · Updated
You can recognize new combinations
Almost any adjective of temperature or emotional intensity can combine here: kindhearted, tenderhearted (easily moved emotionally), bighearted (generous). If you see one you do not know, just combine the adjective's meaning with "having that kind of heart".
How it is formed
Adjective + hearted. The most common ones:
- warm + heartedwarmhearted (kind, caring)
- cold + heartedcoldhearted (unfeeling, cruel)
- broken + heartedbrokenhearted (heartbroken)
Most of these have an opposite: warmhearted/coldhearted, wholehearted/halfhearted, brokenhearted/lighthearted (cheerful, carefree). Learning them in pairs doubles your vocabulary for the same effort.
How it is pronounced
-hearted
Tap the button to hear how the ending sounds. Each word in the table has its own audio.
Examples
Base word
With -hearted
In a phrase
- brokenbrokenheartedShe was brokenhearted after the breakup.
- warmwarmheartedHe's the most warmhearted person I know.
- coldcoldheartedIt was coldhearted of him to ignore her calls for help.
- wholewholeheartedWe gave the project our wholehearted support.
- faintfaintheartedThis hike isn't for the fainthearted, it's very steep.
Common mistakes
brokenhearted vs broken heart (interchangeable)
they are used in different grammatical structures
"Brokenhearted" is an adjective: "She was brokenhearted." A "broken heart" is a noun phrase: "He had a broken heart." You cannot say "She was broken heart" or "She had a brokenhearted." The compound adjective and the noun phrase are not interchangeable.
halfhearted vs half-hearted (spelling)
both spellings are acceptable; be consistent
Most -hearted compounds can be written as one word (brokenhearted, wholehearted, warmhearted) or hyphenated (broken-hearted, whole-hearted, warm-hearted). Dictionaries vary. Whichever you choose, be consistent within a single piece of writing.
A trick to remember it
"Heart" = someone's emotional character. Join the temperature adjective with "heart" literally: warm + heart, cold + heart, whole + heart = with the WHOLE heart in it, holding nothing back.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Form the word
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
"The journey was not for the fainthearted." What does this mean?
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Frequently asked questions
What does the suffix -hearted mean in English?
The suffix -hearted describes someone's emotional character: warmhearted (kind, affectionate) and coldhearted (unfeeling, unkind). In Spanish it usually maps to de corazón / con el corazón.
Can you give an example of a word with -hearted?
"broken" becomes "brokenhearted". It is a typical example of the -hearted suffix.
Other useful suffixes
-laden
Means "loaded with": snow-laden (loaded with snow) and guilt-laden (weighed down by guilt).
-ridden
Forms adjectives describing something persistently dominated or plagued by something negative: guilt-ridden, debt-ridden, crime-ridden, anxiety-ridden, corruption-ridden.
-stricken
Forms adjectives describing someone or something severely affected by an emotion, condition, or calamity: poverty-stricken, grief-stricken, panic-stricken, awe-stricken, drought-stricken.
Learn every English suffix
-tion, -ness, -ful, -ly, -able... every ending you need to understand thousands of words at once.