heartache

[hahrt-eyk]

noun

1. emotional pain or distress; sorrow; grief; anguish.

heartache

/ ˈhɑːtˌeɪk /

noun

1. intense anguish or mental suffering

Other Word Forms

• heartaching adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of heartache¹

before 1000; Middle English hert ache, Old English heort ece; heart, ache

Example Sentences

It was a venture that would capture the changing face of football while ending in heartache.

From BBC

The work in question, “Nobody’s Girl,” fits into a tradition of great heartache albums.

From Los Angeles Times

She’ll sublimate her own romantic heartache in urban renewal and other good works.

From Los Angeles Times

Underneath that performance of normalcy, however, lies a deeper heartache, a deeper injury, that we keep carefully contained, sensing that if we let it fully surface, it might overwhelm us.

From Salon

However, the family added they welcomed the coroner's report to help ensure "no other family will have to endure the heartache we have gone through".

From BBC

Related Words

• agony 
• bitterness 
• despair 
• grief 
• heartbreak 
• misery 
• pang 
• sadness 
• suffering 
• torment