heartsick

1 of 2

adjective

heart·​sick ˈhärt-ˌsik 

: very despondent : depressed

heartsick over the bad news

heartsickness noun

heartsickness

2 of 2

noun

: the quality or state of being heartsick

died of … heartsickness after moving here and waiting for years for the man who never came

—National Geographic

the wild heartsickness of the desert

—Lawrence Durrell

Synonyms of heartsick

Adjective

• heartbroken
• sad
• unhappy
• depressed
• miserable
• sorry
• melancholy
• upset
• worried
• bad

Examples of heartsick in a Sentence

Adjective

They were absolutely heartsick over the loss of their home.

I was heartsick to learn of their divorce.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

One of my countless midnights on a two-lane country road, maybe, when the approaching headlights belonged to a drunk driver, or a trucker on the cusp of sleep, or a heartsick teenager composing a text to an ex. — Brian Laidlaw, Longreads, 1 Sep. 2026

Imagine talking to your most heartsick friend, the one who simply cannot get over her ex. — Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 9 June 2026

Harris has taken the religious patina of Alice Walker’s tale—most chiefly the Christian God, to whom Celie writes her heartsick journal entries after she is separated from her beloved sister, Nettie, by the monstrous Pa and the vindictive Mister—and dirties it, wisely. — Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 1 June 2026

Perhaps too good for his own good, Lucas moves among jangling psychedelia, heartsick pastorals, and radio-ready rock, as if forever searching for a way out of his attic studio or his parents’ spare bedroom. — Grayson Haver Currin, Pitchfork, 23 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

circa 1529, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1556, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

heartsick

adjective

heart·​sick -ˌsik 

: very sad and discouraged : depressed

heartsickness noun