heartwarming

adjective

heart·​warm·​ing ˈhärt-ˌwȯr-miŋ How to pronounce heartwarming (audio)
Synonyms of heartwarmingnext
: inspiring sympathetic feeling : cheering
It's heartwarming how their neighbors pitched in to help.
heart-warmer
ˈhärt-ˌwȯr-mər How to pronounce heartwarming (audio)
noun

Synonyms of heartwarming

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of heartwarming in a Sentence

The movie is a heartwarming story about a boy and his dog. It's heartwarming to see how his neighbors have helped him.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Perhaps the most heartwarming sight was that of Oleksiuk leaving the pitch with a huge smile on his face. — Simon Johnson, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026 As customers travel from near and far to say goodbye, this heartwarming portrait celebrates an everyday worker who always went above and beyond, and the joy and community one person can inspire. — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 14 Oct. 2026 And yet there is a real love story going on between you and Caro Braun’s character, which is very heartwarming to watch unfold. — Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 28 Sep. 2026 But in a heartwarming development, organizing the Goneies has given Black a change of heart. — Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 14 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for heartwarming

Word History

First Known Use

1743, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of heartwarming was in 1743

Rhymes for heartwarming

See All Rhymes for heartwarming

Browse Nearby Words

heart wall
heartwarming
heartweed
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Heartwarming.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heartwarming. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

heartwarming

adjective
heart·​warm·​ing ˈhärt-ˌwȯr-miŋ How to pronounce heartwarming (audio)
: making one feel good inside : cheering to one's emotions
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of compunction

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All