heartbreaking
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of heartbreaking
First recorded in 1600–10; heartbreak + -ing 2
Explanation
Something that's deeply sad or distressing is heartbreaking, like the heartbreaking death of your beloved cat. Heartbreaking is the perfect word to describe a devastating feeling. When you lose someone you love, it feels like your heart is broken. Use this adjective for anything that causes you grief or sorrow, like the heartbreaking loss of an old tree in your yard or a glimpse of your crush holding hands with someone else. Other distressing events can feel heartbreaking too — even the loss of your favorite team in the playoffs: "What a heartbreaking defeat!"
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.
We know they’ll get their man, but it will take some time, and more than a few hilarious and heartbreaking misfires.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026
Hull then lined the next pitch into the gap in left-center field for a walk-off double to send the Tar Heels to Omaha in a heartbreaking, season-ending loss for USC.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 7, 2026
As heartbreaking as it is to give up your dog, it is possible to live without one.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 31, 2026
Langsford said that she was thankful as her mother "still knows who I am", but that she had also struggled with the "heartbreaking" experience of her father's dementia diagnosis.
From BBC • May 24, 2026
It must have been heartbreaking when Jennings returned to the country estate and found his wife on her deathbed in the spring of 1844.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
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.
