heart-wrenching

[hahrt ren-ching]

adjective

1. causing or involving great sadness or distress; heartbreaking.

   The accounts of their persecution are heart-wrenching.

Other Word Forms

• heart-wrenchingly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of heart-wrenching¹

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

Example Sentences

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

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

And in their first feature lead role, the queer, L.A.-born actor Tonatiuh embodies all of Molina’s contradictions — his bluster, his pain, his radiance — to heart-wrenching effect.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The most heart-wrenching reunion is between two teenage girls and involves a not-quite-murder.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The barricade is also where the actor who plays Fantine, Lindsay Heather Pearce, sits for a time when she becomes part of the ensemble after singing the heart-wrenching “I Dreamed a Dream.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

It's used to heart-wrenching effect on their debut album, singing of the physical ache of unrequited love, over delicately strummed guitars and brushed drums.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• agonizing 
• distressing www.thesaurus.com
• gut-wrenching 
• harrowing 
• heartbreaking 
• heartrending 
• painful 
• piteous 
• sorrowful 
• tormenting www.thesaurus.com