Good-hearted means having kind and generous intentions toward others. A good-hearted person genuinely wants others to be happy and safe. They help without expecting anything in return, feel pleased when good things happen to others, and feel sad when others are hurting.

You can recognize good-hearted people by how they act when no one's watching or when there's nothing in it for them. A good-hearted classmate might include someone sitting alone at lunch, not because a teacher told them to, but because they genuinely care. A good-hearted neighbor might shovel your driveway after a snowstorm just because they know it would help.

Being good-hearted involves acting from genuine concern for others. Good-hearted people share their lunch with someone who forgot theirs, comfort a friend who's upset, or stand up for someone being treated unfairly. This comes from their inner nature, not from external pressure or social expectations.

The word captures something about a person's core nature. When you describe someone as good-hearted, you're saying something fundamental about who they are, not just how they behave on their best days or their worst days.