heartsick
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of heartsick
Explanation
If you've lost someone you love, you'll be desperately sad, or heartsick. Your beloved grandmother's death or your best friend moving far away can both make you feel heartsick. Grief and loss are connected to the adjective heartsick. When someone's heartsick, they're not just bummed out — they are grieving and mournful. You could also describe this as being heartbroken or heavy-hearted. The heart is important here, because of the strong emotion associated with the word. Originally, heartsick literally meant "ill from heart disease."
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.
To the book’s heartsick narrator, Louise Brown, the man who embodies those old-fashioned virtues is Claude Collier, the 27-year-old layabout scion of an aristocratic New Orleans clan.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026
Years later, on a different kind of bad day — heartsick, this time — I tried to recreate it.
From Salon ● Mar. 31, 2026
Addressing fans through her On the Jlo newsletter, the singer wrote: "I am completely heartsick and devastated about letting you down."
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2024
“I am completely heartsick and devastated about letting you down,” the Grammy Award winner said Friday in a message to fans through her OntheJLo newsletter.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2024
I was excited and heartsick, all at once, and I almost didn’t hear the quiet ticking underneath the sound of my own heartbeat, but Twig did.
From "The Science of Breakable Things" by Tae Keller
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.
