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Synonyms

broken heart

American  

noun

  1. devastating sorrow, especially from disappointment in love; heartbreak.

    When you're young, you think you'll never recover from a broken heart.

Etymology

Origin of broken heart

First recorded in 1825–35

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.

"Ramadan without the Al-Aqsa Mosque is a very sad feeling, a feeling of having a broken heart," said worshipper Zeyad Mona.

From Barron's • Mar. 20, 2026

I conclude not with a joke but with a proverb at the essence of most Jewish jokes: What is as whole as a Jew with a broken heart?

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 21, 2025

"My mum and dad weren't together, so I always think it was a bit of a broken heart as well," said Meg.

From BBC • Dec. 20, 2025

“It’s with a broken heart that I’ve decided I can no longer, in good conscience, and after 47 years, remain an employee of Ben & Jerry’s,” Greenfield wrote.

From Salon • Sep. 17, 2025

And then, when she had cried about her broken heart, Evan had glued every single last piece back together again.

From "The Lemonade War" by Jacqueline Davies

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.