[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/heartstrings/)

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# heartstrings

noun (plural)

«heartstrings» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Your deepest feelings of love and sympathy. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/heartstrings/#m1)
2. (in the phrase «tug at/pull at someone's heartstrings») To make someone feel very sorry, sad or loving. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/heartstrings/#m2)

### In the lessons

Almost always used in «tug at the heartstrings» or «pull at the heartstrings»: a sad film, a lost puppy or a charity advert does this. In The Wind in the Willows, when Mole smells his old home, the call of it tugs at his heartstrings until he weeps.

### Examples

- The film about the lost puppy tugged at our heartstrings. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/heartstrings/#x1)
- Charity adverts often pull at your heartstrings. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/heartstrings/#x2)
- The smell of his old home tugged at Mole's heartstrings. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/heartstrings/#x3)
- The orphan's story pulled at everyone's heartstrings. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/heartstrings/#x4)
- The song about home tugs at my heartstrings every time. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/heartstrings/#x5)
- Her letter touched my heartstrings. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/heartstrings/#x6)

### Note

Plural noun, one word. Used figuratively; heartstrings are not real parts of the heart. Writers also say «it plucked at his heartstrings».

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «heartstrings» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/heartstrings/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«heartstrings» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/heartstrings.html) on Mova free.