heartbroken
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of heartbroken
Explanation
To be heartbroken is to be so sad that it feels like your heart has cracked inside your chest. You’d be heartbroken after a death, but you can also be heartbroken when you get dumped by your girlfriend or boyfriend. Waaaaaa. When someone is heartbroken, they are deeply sorrowful or distressed. Feeling heartbroken about a tragic accident or disaster is an understandable response, and being heartbroken after a romantic breakup is basically inevitable. The word heartbroken has been used since the late 1500s, and it comes from heartbreak, which is rooted in the Old English heorte, "heart" and also "spirit" or "soul."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"We are stunned and heartbroken by this senseless tragedy," Steven Cook, the top administrative official of the local school district, said in a statement.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
"We are stunned and heartbroken by this senseless tragedy," said Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Steven Cook in a statement.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
Criminal Minds star Kirsten Vangsness told the BBC she was "heartbroken".
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
Flatley, 68, announced his wife’s death Tuesday morning on Instagram, writing he is heartbroken and has “lost my beautiful wife, Niamh, and my best friend.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
I sobbed the whole way home, still heartbroken.
From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
