heartbreaking
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word 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.
A teacher described the decision as "truly heartbreaking" and said his smartphone was confiscated on Wednesday, before being returned with a warning not to carry it again.
From Barron's • Jun. 17, 2026
Watching egocentrism augment in real time, on a mass scale, is as heartbreaking and destabilizing as death itself.
From Salon • Jun. 13, 2026
“The prayers, messages, flowers, meals, hugs, and countless acts of kindness have carried us through the most heartbreaking days of our lives,” they said in a note posted Friday on Samantha’s Instagram page.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026
Jane Dickerson, who works with Port William Inshore Rescue in Dumfries and Galloway said the recent spate of fatal water incidents was "absolutely heartbreaking".
From BBC • Jun. 5, 2026
It read: “Although the Bears failed to overtake the veteran Husky varsity ... in that last heartbreaking drive they proved that they were headed for the Olympic Games of 1936.”
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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.
