largehearted

Largehearted is an English adjective describing a person who is generous, benevolent, and broadly minded. The term connotes warmth of feeling, generosity of spirit, and willingness to forgive or help others beyond what is expected. It is typically used to praise acts of kindness or the character of someone with noble sentiments.

The word comes from large in the sense of substantial and heart as a metaphor for feelings or character. It is most commonly hyphenated as large-hearted; some dictionaries also list a version without a hyphen (largehearted). In contemporary usage, big-hearted is a near-synonym that is more colloquial.

Usage notes: largehearted is somewhat formal or literary and appears in essays, biographies, or poetic prose. It can describe gestures (a large-hearted gesture) or people (a large-hearted donor). Antonyms include small-hearted, narrow-minded, petty, selfish.

Related concepts include magnanimity, benevolence, philanthropy, and generosity. The term is rarely used as a proper noun; if encountered as a brand name or title, capitalization would follow branding conventions.