to pull at heartstrings
- idiom
- Informal
:
conmover
- The movie was so emotional that it pulled at heartstrings and made me cry.
Examples
-
Every year, the charity commercial pulls at heartstrings and inspires people to donate.
-
The writer's touching story really pulled at heartstrings across the nation.
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Her speech pulled at heartstrings and brought many in the audience to tears.
-
Wow, that really pulled at heartstrings!
-
The movie really pulls at heartstrings.
-
His speech about the struggles of children in poverty really pulled at heartstrings.
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The photograph of the abandoned puppy pulled at heartstrings and inspired many to adopt pets.
Synonyms
668
3.4
Make someone feel strong emotions
95
4.1
To make someone feel very sad
34
3.4
To make someone very sad because of love or disappointment
28
4.6
To cause a sudden strong feeling in someone
7
4.6
To feel very strong emotions that you cannot control
5
4.3
Feeling strong emotion that makes you cry
3
3.7
Make someone feel strong emotion or sympathy
2
5.8
To make a person feel a strong emotion
1
5.3
To make someone feel very sad or touched
To cause very deep sadness or wonder that makes angels cry
Antonyms
How Moving
- Informal
34
3.4
- Informal
131
3.7
668
3.4
680
2.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
pull + at + heartstring
The phrase combines a clear physical verb 'pull' with the metaphorical target 'heartstrings', so learners can map the idea of tugging to causing strong feelings; the imagery directly suggests 'move someone's emotions'. However, because 'heartstrings' is a figurative concept (not a literal string) and the meaning relies on metaphorical mapping rather than straightforward composition, it is not fully predictable for all B1 learners.
Etymology
The idiom pull at heartstrings imagines the heart with invisible heartstrings that someone can pull like strings on a harp, so a small tug makes the heart feel strong emotion. So it means 'to cause deep sadness or sympathy'.