Sadness crept into her small heart.

Meaning: This sentence describes how sadness slowly made her feel unhappy.

Choice of Words: Crept means to move slowly and quietly. Heart is the organ that pumps blood around the body. Sadness is a feeling of unhappiness. When you put them together, it means that the feeling of sadness slowly and quietly entered her heart.

Alternative Expressions

The girl felt a wave of sadness wash over her.

Meaning: This means that the girl was suddenly filled with sadness. It's like saying, She was hit with a strong feeling of unhappiness that made her feel overwhelmed.

Choice of Words: Girl is a noun that means a young female child. Felt is a verb that means to experience or have a particular emotion or sensation. Wave is a noun that means a large body of water moving across the surface of the ocean, or a surge of emotion or feeling. Sadness is a noun that means a feeling of unhappiness or disappointment. Wash is a verb that means to clean something with water, or to flow over or cover something. When you put them together, "The girl felt a wave of sadness wash over her" means that the girl experienced a strong feeling of sadness that came over her like a wave.

A wave of sadness crashed over the girl.

Meaning: This means that the girl was suddenly hit with a strong feeling of sadness. It's like saying, She was suddenly filled with so much sadness that it felt like a wave had crashed over her.

Choice of Words: Wave is a noun that means a large body of water moving across the surface of the ocean, or a surge of emotion or feeling. Sadness is a noun that means a feeling of unhappiness or disappointment. Crashed is a verb that means to hit something with great force, or to collapse or fail suddenly. Over is a preposition that means above or on top of something. When you put them together, "A wave of sadness crashed over the girl" means that the girl was suddenly overwhelmed by a strong feeling of sadness.

Related Expressions