Synonyms

heart-wrenching

American

[hahrt ren-ching] / ˈhɑrt ˈrɛn tʃɪŋ /

adjective

causing or involving great sadness or distress; heartbreaking.

The accounts of their persecution are heart-wrenching.

Other Word Forms

heart-wrenchingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of heart-wrenching

First recorded in 1835–40; heart ( def. ) + wrench ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. )

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.

Time and again, Ann’s hope is met with heart-wrenching pain, and to hear Seyfried’s angelic voice laced with her character’s despair is quite unlike anything I have ever experienced watching a film, musical or otherwise.

From Salon

Alzheimer’s, like many progressive diseases, is, by turns, heart-wrenching, demoralizing and draining.

From The Wall Street Journal

"It has quite a bit of sentimental value to me, so yes it is heart-wrenching," he said.

From BBC

And the biggest, most heart-wrenching question of all: If the long-lost Lumleys were alive and well, then where, oh where, had they been all these years?

From Literature

“There is no reason for the state to interfere with the burial—it’s heart-wrenching,” his widow, Esther Lungu, told reporters in August.

From The Wall Street Journal

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