heartbreaking

adjective

heart·​break·​ing ˈhärt-ˌbrā-kiŋ How to pronounce heartbreaking (audio)
1
: causing intense sorrow or distress
heartbreaking news
a heartbreaking defeat
2
: producing an intense emotional reaction or response
heartbreaking beauty
heartbreakingly adverb
a heartbreakingly tragic movie

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
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
An extra hour of sleep did nothing to alter the mood in Happy Valley on Sunday after another heartbreaking loss to Ohio State. Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 4 Nov. 2024 The heartbreaking clip was posted on Facebook earlier in October by Farm Sanctuary, a nonprofit organization that rescues animals in need and provides lifelong care at their locations in New York and Los Angeles. David Faris, Newsweek, 3 Nov. 2024 First, the dude has to watch his beloved Bears lose in heartbreaking fashion because one of the players was too busy prematurely taunting fans to play defense on a Hail Mary, and now Sol just took him down from the top rope. Dalton Ross, EW.com, 31 Oct. 2024 For a team that lamented its exhaustion and maybe even over-exertion by the end of a heartbreaking Game 7 last season, a road back-to-back with both games requiring overtime wasn’t exactly the ideal formula to turn over a new leaf. Bennett Durando, The Denver Post, 30 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for heartbreaking 

Word History

First Known Use

1591, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of heartbreaking was in 1591

Dictionary Entries Near heartbreaking

Cite this Entry

“Heartbreaking.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heartbreaking. Accessed 10 Nov. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on heartbreaking

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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