Meaning & use
heavy on my heart
Last updated
Meanings
phraseidiomfigurativeliterary
Weighing on my feelings and causing sadness, worry or guilt.
Grammar: Used after be or weigh and changes with the person: heavy on her heart.
Patterns
- be heavy on someone's heart
- weigh heavy on someone's heart
Her friend's illness was heavy on my heart all week.
I cannot sleep tonight because the argument is heavy on my heart.
The loss of the old house still lies heavy on my heart.
phraseidiomreligion
Used in religious settings to say that a person feels a strong duty to pray, speak or act about a matter.
Grammar: Often introduced by it is: it is heavy on my heart that we help.
Patterns
- it is heavy on someone's heart to do something
It is heavy on my heart that so many families are struggling.
The needs of our neighbors are heavy on my heart, so I will organize a collection.
Common combinations
- weigh heavy on my heart
- The goodbye weighed heavy on my heart.
- lie heavy on my heart
- The secret lies heavy on my heart.
- feel heavy on my heart
- I feel the news heavy on my heart.
- heavy on my heart tonight
- His words are heavy on my heart tonight.
Synonyms and how they differ
- weigh on my mind
- Weigh on my mind is about constant thoughts or worry, whereas heavy on my heart stresses emotion and sorrow.
- troubling me
- Troubling me is plainer and more neutral, with none of the poetic imagery.
- burden
- A burden is a heavy responsibility or worry, whereas the heart version also covers sadness.
- distressing
- Distressing is stronger and suggests visible upset, while heavy on my heart can be a quiet, steady sorrow.
Opposites
Word family
- heavy adjective
- weighing a lot, or very serious
- heavily adverb
- in a heavy way
- heaviness noun
- the state of being heavy
- heavy-hearted adjective
- sad
- heart noun
- the organ of the body, or the center of emotions
Commonly confused: heavy on my heart or heavy-hearted?
heavy on my heart vs heavy-hearted
Heavy-hearted describes a person who is sad, while heavy on my heart describes a matter that causes the sadness.
Practice
The sad news from home has been ___ all week.
Choose one answer.
The idiom is heavy on someone's heart. The other prepositions and forms are not used in this fixed expression.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “heavy on my heart”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.