Would you like to describe someone who is so cruel and mean that there has got to be a specific word or term for it? The phrase 'cold heart' or 'cold hearted' can be used to say exactly this and most people will know what you mean. This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this common phrase.
Meaning
The term 'cold heart' or 'coldhearted' is used to describe someone who is cold, crass or unfeeling according to the speaker.
The phrase '[someone with a/they have a] cold heart' is a figurative phrase that is used to imply that someone does not have a 'warm heart' that feels the same emotions as someone else.
The phrase is most common as an insult, but it can also be used as a third-party reference to something that someone has said.
Rarely, the phrase is used as a descriptive means that is given as subjective.
The use of 'coldhearted' and 'cold heart' are discouraged in any hard news headlines due to its heightened objective nature, but it is still often used in popular media.
If the speaker is referring to more than one person, then the phrase can also be used in the plural form to say that they have 'cold hearts'.
Example Usage
“What kind of coldhearted person steals their child's game console just to sell it somewhere so they can buy three cheeseburgers and a beer?”
“Wow, your president sure has a cold heart if he can do that to his people. I don't want to know what it would feel like to be his wife.”
“You're one coldhearted son-of-a-shotgun with three kids in Texas and another four suspected upstate.”
“My mother had such a cold heart that I suggested the funeral home bury her in a freezer instead. They didn't find it funny at all, and we still had to pay for a regular coffin.”
Origin
The phrases 'cold heart' and 'coldhearted' are ones that appeared somewhere in the 1600s according to the majority of online etymology resources. When someone has a 'cold heart' it means that they are unfeeling or unwilling to feel: the phrase reached a height after it was mentioned in some of the works of Shakespeare.
After its mentions in the works of Shakespeare, the phrase would become more heavily used and translated into select other languages as a direct translation.
The translation of the phrase has led to its heightened popularity, where it has become a common part of conversation (and not just in English, but in many other world languages).
Among many other modern pop culture references for the phrase, Elton John and Dua Lipa released a 2021 song called Cold Heart, which led to a further increase for social media uses of the phrase.
Phrases Similar to Cold Heart
- Coldhearted
- Coldheartedness
Phrases Opposite to Cold Heart
- Warm heart
What is the Correct Saying?
- [they have a] cold heart
- cold heartedness
Ways People May Say Cold Heart Incorrectly
There are several ways in which someone might use the phrase 'cold heart' or 'cold heartedness' in the wrong way, or misunderstand the meaning of the phrase.
The saying is figurative, and it does not literally refer to the temperature of someone's heart. If there is no equivalent to the phrase in the language it is being translated to, then misunderstanding of the term is easily possible.
The phrase has acceptable plural use when the speaker is referring to more than one person: '[he/she/they] have cold hearts' is one acceptable use of the phrase.
Acceptable Ways to Phrase Cold Heart
The correct way to use the phrases 'cold heart' and 'coldhearted' are as a reference to someone who is seen as unfeeling or unemotional by the speaker.
The saying can be a direct reference which is said to someone, but the phrase can also be used as a third-party reference to someone used when speaking about them.