heartbreaking

adjective

heart·​break·​ing ˈhärt-ˌbrā-kiŋ 

1

: causing intense sorrow or distress

heartbreaking news

a heartbreaking defeat

2

: producing an intense emotional reaction or response

heartbreaking beauty

heartbreakingly

ˈhärt-ˌbrā-kiŋ-lē 

adverb

a heartbreakingly tragic movie

Synonyms

• depressing
• dismal
• drear
• dreary
• heartrending
• melancholy
• mournful
• pathetic
• sad
• saddening
• sorry
• tearful
• teary

Examples of heartbreaking in a Sentence

She wrote a heartbreaking story about the death of her grandfather.

It was heartbreaking to know that there was nothing I could do.

The team suffered another heartbreaking defeat.

Recent Examples on the Web

Gere is simply magnetic and gives a profoundly stirring and heartbreaking performance. —Maelle Beauget-Uhl, Forbes, 24 Dec. 2024

But then there are those moments when Josephine’s bluster falters, revealing the raw and heartbreaking vulnerability still pulsing underneath. —Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Dec. 2024

Related Articles Denver’s most heartbreaking restaurant closures of 2024 Does this Highlands Ranch pizzeria’s dough taste like New York’s? —Sara Rosenthal, The Denver Post, 17 Dec. 2024

What is eminently apparent, in the aftermath of his untimely and heartbreaking demise, is that these words ring true for the grand venture of life itself. —Taran Dugal, Rolling Stone, 16 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1591, in the meaning defined at sense 1a