How to Use heart-wrenching in a Sentence

heart-wrenching

adjective
  • The last two episodes of this season are just heart-wrenching.
    — Daniel D'addario, Variety, 12 June 2026
  • Becky asks in one of the film’s most heart-wrenching moments.
    — Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 16 June 2025
  • Two Chihuahuas were left in a pink cage with a heart-wrenching note.
    — Simone Jasper, Miami Herald, 28 June 2024
  • Each has their own heart-wrenching story of abuse and misery.
    — Mick Krever, CNN Money, 6 Nov. 2025
  • Seeing those friends and allies leave must have been heart-wrenching.
    — Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 7 Sep. 2025
  • That is until his wife had one and told him never to make light of these heart-wrenching events again.
    — Patricia Steckler, Baltimore Sun, 2 July 2024
  • The biggest most heart-wrenching scene is when Jamie dies in Claire’s arms.
    — Reshma Gopaldas, IndieWire, 15 May 2026
  • Here are some heart-wrenching betrayals, both on the big and small screen, that made quite a huge impact.
    — Jacob Linden, Men's Health, 28 Mar. 2023
  • Anyone who has seen footage knows just how heart-wrenching the situation was.
    — Jack Knudson, Discover Magazine, 1 Mar. 2024
  • For Manuel Ramirez, those storms have left him in a heart-wrenching position.
    — Maddie Carr, Kansas City Star, 24 July 2025
  • When the cops come calling for Alexis, Stuy has a heart-wrenching choice to make.
    — Lizz Schumer, PEOPLE, 16 Apr. 2026
  • The plea deal marks a partial end to one of the East Bay’s most heart-wrenching cases.
    — Nate Gartrell, The Mercury News, 18 June 2024
  • But one of the most heart-wrenching chapters in the club’s history is a factor, not an excuse.
    — James Pearce, New York Times, 28 May 2026
  • Olympic skier Bode Miller has a heart-wrenching reason for going on the show.
    — Dana Rose Falcone, Peoplemag, 23 Aug. 2023
  • The show weaves an earnest and sometimes heart-wrenching story about a father and son into a wacky, quirky whodunit.
    — Katie Campione, Deadline, 26 May 2026
  • Horrific and heart-wrenching photos from the scene were shown to the jury early in the trial.
    — Jonathan Franklin, NPR, 30 May 2024
  • To finish it off on a pay-per-view and cut a heart-wrenching emotional promo after is what people like.
    — Jeremy Hanna, Newsweek, 12 Feb. 2025
  • Over the days and weeks to come there will be tireless — and warranted — analysis of who is to blame for this heart-wrenching loss.
    — Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica, 9 July 2025
  • Mary nurses her grief with a perennial mug of whiskey and breaks down crying after one too many in the movie’s most heart-wrenching scene.
    — Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 3 Jan. 2024
  • Some local parents say the situation has been heart-wrenching for them and their children.
    — Senior Editor, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2026
  • Mr Stone’s discovery kick-started one of the most heart-wrenching puzzles in the world of horse racing.
    — Grrlscientist, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
  • In the three years since the accident, Williams has had to answer some heart-wrenching questions from her grandsons.
    — Tribune News Service, Orange County Register, 22 Feb. 2024
  • One of the most heart-wrenching moments came when Cadogan made the decision to shave off her remaining hair.
    — Ashley Vega, People.com, 27 Jan. 2025
  • Motherhood is the dominant theme of the most heart-wrenching hour of the Outlander prequel to date.
    — Max Gao, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2025
  • Dawson's Creek was full of heart-wrenching breakups and sweet makeups, but in real life, much of the cast is happily in love.
    — Alexandra Schonfeld, PEOPLE, 23 Sep. 2025
  • In a heart-wrenching new video shared to social media this week, Russell calls her grandmother in heaven.
    — Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 14 May 2025
  • Despite the low points vividly detailed throughout the chapters, the book is inspiring as well as heart-wrenching.
    — Kelli Skye Fadroski, Daily News, 17 Feb. 2026
  • And then, Charlie Edwards gives such a heart-wrenching performance.
    — James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Oct. 2024
  • In the three-minute visual, the pair serenades couples on the dance floor, and one of them has a heart-wrenching story that takes centerstage.
    — Griselda Flores, Billboard, 29 Feb. 2024
  • When a woman named Caitlin shared a heart-wrenching dilemma on Tiktok, her followers came through for her.
    — Erin Clements, Peoplemag, 14 Dec. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'heart-wrenching.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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