heartbreaking

adjective

heart·​break·​ing ˈhärt-ˌbrā-kiŋ 

1

: causing intense sorrow or distress

heartbreaking news

a heartbreaking defeat

2

: producing an intense emotional reaction or response

heartbreaking beauty

heartbreakingly

ˈhärt-ˌbrā-kiŋ-lē 

adverb

a heartbreakingly tragic movie

Synonyms of heartbreaking

• sad
• depressing
• pathetic

Examples of heartbreaking in a Sentence

She wrote a heartbreaking story about the death of her grandfather.

It was heartbreaking to know that there was nothing I could do.

The team suffered another heartbreaking defeat.

Recent Examples on the Web

Then with Lee, in the timeline closest to our present day, her heartbreaking, hard-to-stomach testimony means nothing to a callous judge who sentences her to death three times over. — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 18 Sep. 2026

The last Bravo celebrity who came on this show following a deeply personal and heartbreaking scandal did pretty well for herself on and off the dance floor. — Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2026

The doctors’ prognosis after the surgery was that Ponter would be paralyzed from the neck down, and Francey recalled the difficult task of calling her boyfriend’s parents to deliver the heartbreaking news. — Erin Clack, PEOPLE, 13 Sep. 2026

This improvisation of last-minute hope was truly heartbreaking. — Kurt Loder, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1591, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for heartbreaking

• awaking
• backbreaking
• bookmaking
• breathtaking
• brickmaking
• caretaking
• dressmaking
• filmmaking
• forsaking
• glassmaking
• groundbreaking
• haymaking