idiom · informal
wear one's heart on one's sleeve
UK/weə wʌnz hɑːt ɒn wʌnz sliːv/US/wer wʌnz hɑrt ɑn wʌnz sliːv/wear·ONE'S·HEART·on·ONE'S·SLEEVE
to show one's feelings openly
Examples
“You can always tell how she feels — she wears her heart on her sleeve.”
“He's the sort of person who wears his heart on his sleeve.”
“In relationships she tends to wear her heart on her sleeve, which can be risky.”
Band 8 sentence
“While some admire people who wear their hearts on their sleeves, others see it as a lack of emotional restraint.”
Collocations
- wear your heart on your sleeve
- tend to wear one's heart on one's sleeve
Word family
Common mistakes
wear heart on sleeve→wear one's heart on one's sleeve
wear my heart on my sleeveed→wear my heart on my sleeve
Say it for a higher band
5show your feelings→6be open about feelings→7+wear one's heart on one's sleeve
Synonyms
open-hearted
show one's feelings
Easily confused
an open book
“He's an open book; you can usually predict his reactions.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In Emotions
Learn it with its set