1
as in sad
causing unhappiness
a heartbreaking story of a family torn asunder by war
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in tragic
of a kind to cause great distress
the heartbreaking state of Main Street now that most of the businesses have closed
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in pathetic
deserving of one's pity
a heartbreaking attempt to escape that ends in disaster
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of heartbreaking
This is the most heartbreaking part, like, what do these boys do now?
—
Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 22 May 2025
One of these was the scientist in Jakarta, but by far the biggest and most profoundly affecting change from the first game was the third episode, which gave Frank and Bill a beautiful, heartbreaking episode all to themselves.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 19 May 2025
In one heartbreaking scene, after seven months sober, Mike takes some ketamine with his girlfriend and her parents and is dancing and having a joyous time.
—Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 19 May 2025
Her heartbreaking clip has captured the hearts of over 1.2 million TikTok viewers, with thousands of viewers sharing their sorrow for the little boy.
—Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for heartbreaking
Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 22 May 2025
One of these was the scientist in Jakarta, but by far the biggest and most profoundly affecting change from the first game was the third episode, which gave Frank and Bill a beautiful, heartbreaking episode all to themselves.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 19 May 2025
In one heartbreaking scene, after seven months sober, Mike takes some ketamine with his girlfriend and her parents and is dancing and having a joyous time.
—Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 19 May 2025
Her heartbreaking clip has captured the hearts of over 1.2 million TikTok viewers, with thousands of viewers sharing their sorrow for the little boy.
—Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for heartbreaking
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heartbreaking
Adjective
-
Stewart is still thanked by gay fans by creating such a rare, highly visible (albeit sad) representation.—
Jordan Hoffman,
EW.com,
27 May 2025
-
My back hurt from that sad excuse for a chair (seriously, who designs dining chairs to feel like medieval torture devices?).—
Renae Gregoire,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2025
Adjective
-
Mexicans mourned the deaths of two sailors while authorities in Mexico and New York worked to unravel the mystery of the tragic crash of the Cuauhtémoc Training Ship into the Brooklyn Bridge.—
John Bacon,
USA Today,
21 May 2025
-
An hour or two longer without power could have had tragic consequences.—
Elizabeth Wolfe,
CNN Money,
20 May 2025
Adjective
-
What with weakened teams and consistently pathetic performances, their league form on both their parts has been pathetic enough to be termed a dereliction of duty.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
22 May 2025
-
Take yesterday’s left hook out of nowhere by President Donald Trump, bragging about doing something that would bust even this pathetic budget.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
21 May 2025
Adjective
-
The mortality rates of small indie presses and literary journals are a depressing feature of our cultural landscape.—
Michael Washburn,
National Review,
25 May 2025
-
Despite there being ample intrigue and mystery around what happened to Peter's first wife, the truth is pretty depressing.—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
23 May 2025
Adjective
-
The timing of Correa’s five-game absence for a concussion sustained in Baltimore on May 15 was unfortunate.—
Dan Hayes,
New York Times,
27 May 2025
-
This is especially unfortunate because the plot itself is quite harrowing.—
Paul A. Thompson,
Pitchfork,
22 May 2025
Adjective
-
The pitiful performance by the Texas Rangers against the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2016 divisional round.—
Mac Engel,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
30 May 2025
-
But the rates were pitiful: $9.87 for a 13-mile trip, $19.97 for a 25-mile trip and so on.—
Eli Tan,
New York Times,
14 May 2025
Adjective
-
The original doesn’t go that deeply into it, but this poor girl was essentially forced to be a teen mom at this time in her life when all of her friends would be graduating high school and dating and thinking about their futures.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
24 May 2025
-
The product was released in 2023 to a poor reception, and discontinued before the company began winding down operations in February.—
Tom Huddleston Jr.,
CNBC,
24 May 2025
Adjective
-
The Angels left-hander began the season as one of their high leverage relievers, but a miserable outing in the season’s first week told him something wasn’t right.—
Jeff Fletcher,
Oc Register,
26 May 2025
-
Power wound up 19th, the highest-finishing Penske driver on a miserable day for the organization owned by Roger Penske.—
Jenna Fryer,
Hartford Courant,
25 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Heartbreaking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heartbreaking. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share