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
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
On his computer monitor was a photograph of a 2-year-old boy, Alan Kurdi, lying dead in shallow seawater on a beach in Turkey—a heartbreaking photo that went viral in the summer of 2015.
—
Billy Perrigo, Time, 17 Feb. 2026
The portrait of the Prince and the trafficking victim—his hand on her waist; her heartbreaking smile—with Maxwell, the human factor, standing by, will always be the defining image of the Royal Family’s involvement in the Epstein case.
—Sam Knight, New Yorker, 16 Feb. 2026
Fennell cast Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff and Margot Robbie plays Cathy in this tale of childhood friends turned tortured lovers, kept apart by heartbreaking misunderstandings and their own destructive decisions.
—Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 14 Feb. 2026
The heat and moisture can cause the same damage, which would just be heartbreaking.
—Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 14 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for heartbreaking
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Billy Perrigo, Time, 17 Feb. 2026
The portrait of the Prince and the trafficking victim—his hand on her waist; her heartbreaking smile—with Maxwell, the human factor, standing by, will always be the defining image of the Royal Family’s involvement in the Epstein case.
—Sam Knight, New Yorker, 16 Feb. 2026
Fennell cast Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff and Margot Robbie plays Cathy in this tale of childhood friends turned tortured lovers, kept apart by heartbreaking misunderstandings and their own destructive decisions.
—Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 14 Feb. 2026
The heat and moisture can cause the same damage, which would just be heartbreaking.
—Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 14 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for heartbreaking
Cite this Entry
“Heartbreaking.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heartbreaking. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
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