brokenhearted
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of brokenhearted
First recorded in 1520–30
Explanation
Are you so profoundly sad that it feels like a physical pain in your chest? You're brokenhearted. Someone might be brokenhearted about the death of a beloved cat or a falling out with an old friend. Another way to say brokenhearted is heartbroken. Either word is perfect for capturing the sensation that your heart has actually shattered from sorrow. It makes total sense to feel brokenhearted if your best friend snubs you or your favorite grandparent dies. This unhappy adjective has been around since the 1520s.
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.
A headline in the Boston Globe, external summed up the mood: "Smitten from the start, Boston left brokenhearted as Tartan Army moves on."
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
Rollin had been dealing with pain from arthritis and a gastrointestinal condition, she said, and had been brokenhearted since the death of her husband, Harold Edwards, a mathematician, in 2020.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 7, 2023
This is especially hard when we are so raw and brokenhearted, but it is critical that we find ways to see one another.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2023
Ms. Huang tried to rally her brokenhearted friends.
From New York Times ● Jun. 3, 2023
Sadie’s Sandy June’s debut was a plan to soothe brokenhearted people who’d just heard about National Picnic’s new rules.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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.
