no hard feelings
34
4.8
- idiom
- Informal
:
sin rencor
- The two friends shook hands, assuring each other that there were no hard feelings after their disagreement.
- say no hard feelings
- Hey, no hard feelings
- No hard feelings, I hope
We're on good terms, no bad blood, no hard feelings.
- We're on good terms, no bad blood, no hard feelings.
- I can only hope that there are no hard feelings, Right.
- But just to show there are no hard feelings, I hope you'll donate to the Sewell Belmont House, but only if they agree to stop accepting port payments for Reason TV.
Examples
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And please know that there is and are no hard feelings on my part.
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No hard feelings.
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Look, I just want to say, no hard feelings, okay?
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I want to be able to talk to them and show that there are no hard feelings.
Fiction book (1996) -
I hope there are no hard feelings.
Fiction book (1997) -
No hard feelings, no matter what happens.
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Talk to Linda; there are no hard feelings.
Fiction book (1994) -
There's no hard feelings if you wanna split.
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And just to show you there's no hard feelings, I'll make you another cup of tea.
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We went our separate ways and there were no hard feelings (I don't think).
Blog text (29)
Synonyms
1
4.6
Not feeling hurt by words or actions
Not angry or bitter about something unfair that happened
Not feeling anger or wanting revenge
Antonyms
How Angry
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from the parts: 'no' negates, 'hard' here conveys 'strong/severe', and 'feelings' means emotions, so together they mean 'no strong feelings' (i.e. not angry or resentful). This compositional logic is common in everyday speech and mirrored in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words can readily infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
No hard feelings comes from the picture of hard feelings—anger or hurt that is like a heavy stone or a tight knot that does not go away easily. Saying no hard feelings means there is no strong, lasting hurt, so you are 'not angry' and 'not resentful'.