Bleeding Heart Definition & Meaning

American

British

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Synonyms bleeding heart American

noun

1. any of various plants belonging to the genus Dicentra, of the fumitory family, especially D. spectabilis, a common garden plant having long, one-sided clusters of rose or red heart-shaped flowers.

2. a person who makes an ostentatious or excessive display of pity or concern for others.

bleeding heart British

noun

1. any of several plants of the genus Dicentra , esp the widely cultivated Japanese species D. spectabilis , which has finely divided leaves and heart-shaped nodding pink flowers: family Fumariaceae

2. informal

   1. a person who is excessively softhearted

   2. ( as modifier )

      a bleeding-heart liberal

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

• bleeding-heart adjective

Etymology

Origin of bleeding heart

First recorded in 1685–95

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A mentor suggested that Newman recharge his bleeding heart by volunteering with Minsun Ji, founder of Denver’s first day laborers’ center.

From Los Angeles Times

Anthony and Judy are really the bleeding heart of this film.

From Los Angeles Times

Alimouri’s “bleeding heart” came from his father, who fled Iran after opposing both the shah and the country’s Islamic regime, finding work in the United States as a chauffeur.

From Los Angeles Times

Have San Francisco voters lost the bleeding hearts they have been known for — or are they just frustrated?

From New York Times

I come into the world with this sort of open, bleeding heart — I expose myself because I’m a romantic.

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.