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
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
She too had found the video "heartbreaking", saying "it is, without question, a disturbing and tragic thing to see. People are rightly asking questions about how the situation was handled".
From BBC • Jun. 2, 2026
It was heartbreaking, only Buck’s heart was unbreakable.
From "The Call of the Wild" by Jack London
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.
