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Glite Dictionary
to heart bleed

to heart bleed

1 7.6
To feel deep sadness and pity for someone who is suffering
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : sentir compasión
  • My heart bleeds for that child who lost their home in the storm.

Examples

Synonyms

to grieve
vsto heart bleed
139 3.8

To feel very sad because of a loss

is focused on others' suffering and can be shared rather than private
to pity
vsto heart bleed
104 1.0

To feel sorry for someone who is suffering

is deeper and more personal, involving shared emotional hurt
to feel your pain
vsto heart bleed
20 6.8

To understand when someone is having a hard time and show you care

is more intense, experiencing others' sorrow as personal
to commiserate
vsto heart bleed
15 7.0

To feel or show sympathy for someone who is suffering

is more inward and emotional rather than only showing words of support
to feel someone's pain
vsto heart bleed
1 5.5

To understand and share someone's sadness when they are having a hard time

is deep sympathy for others rather than mild understanding

Antonyms

indifference
71 4.6

Lack of interest or concern about something

numbness
5 4.6

A lack of feeling or interest in things often after long stress

How Sympathetic

to heart bleed
  • Informal
1 7.6
to sympathize
96 3.5
to feel bad for
108 2.8

Surface Forms

heart bleed infinitive
heart bleeding present participle
heart bleeds third person singular
heart bled past
heart bled past participle

Morphology

heart + bleed

The phrase is a metaphorical composition: 'heart' (center of emotions) combined with 'bleed' (literally to lose blood / to suffer) yields the sense of deep emotional pain or sympathy, so a learner who knows the literal meanings can often infer the general idea. However this is a figurative, somewhat literary expression and not a fully regular compositional pattern (and 'bleed' also has unrelated senses like 'to bleed someone'), so the exact nuance may require exposure.

Etymology

The idiom heart bleed may come from the strong image of a wounded heart that seems to bleed when you see great pain or loss. That's why it means 'to feel deep emotional pain or sympathy' for someone.