heartrending

adjective

heart·​rend·​ing ˈhärt-ˌren-diŋ 

: heartbreaking sense 1

a heartrending story

heartrendingly

ˈhärt-ˌren-diŋ-lē 

adverb

Synonyms of heartrending

• sad
• depressing
• heartbreaking
• pathetic
• mournful
• tearful

Examples of heartrending in a Sentence

couldn't bear to see the heartrending photos of victims of the famine

a heartrending choice between saving his daughter or his son

Recent Examples on the Web

The driver brings the baby to friends partying in a night club; his quandary yields existential debate in a police station, a portrait of a courthouse’s bureaucratic frenzy, and a heartrending documentary vision of an orphanage. — Rhoda Feng, New Yorker, 31 July 2026

With deeply resonating performances from its leads, Hannah and Daniel, the film draws an audience into the psychological intensity of these characters in a heartrending and hopeful manner. — Zac Ntim, Deadline, 13 May 2026

Every new detail of the case is more heartrending—and stomach-turning—than the last. — Joy Press, Vanity Fair, 1 May 2026

Mitchell Arens’ cinematography simulates a fugue-like state that mirrors the vortex of grief that pervades through this heartrending film. — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1621, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for heartrending

• amending
• appending
• ascending
• attending
• befriending
• commending
• contending
• defending
• depending
• descending
• distending
• expending

Kids Definition

heartrending

adjective

heart·​rend·​ing ˈhärt-ˌren-diŋ 

: causing heartbreak

a heartrending tragedy