Synonyms of heartache

heartache

noun

ˈhärt-ˌāk 

as in sorrow

deep sadness especially for the loss of someone or something loved

the heartache she felt when she saw the innocent victims of the war

Synonyms & Similar Words

• sorrow
• grief
• anguish
• heartbreak
• agony
• pain
• guilt
• woe
• suffering
• sorrowfulness
• remorse
• distress
• dolor
• misery
• despair
• melancholy
• depression
• shame
• regret
• torment
• sorriness
• affliction
• unhappiness
• oppression
• dolefulness
• dejection
• blues
• gloom
• wretchedness
• dreariness
• dumps
• heartsickness
• contrition
• despondency
• melancholia
• desolation
• gloominess
• joylessness
• glumness
• miserableness
• rue
• doldrums
• despondence
• downheartedness
• forlornness
• desolateness
• blue devils
• self-reproach
• self-pity
• disconsolateness
• woefulness
• mopes
• dispiritedness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• joy
• happiness
• ecstasy
• elation
• pleasure
• delight
• bliss
• euphoria
• glee
• jubilation
• exultation
• exhilaration
• exuberance
• rapture
• gladness
• cheerfulness
• joyousness
• mirth
• joyfulness
• blessedness
• cheer
• felicity
• cheeriness
• merriment
• humor
• optimism
• gaiety
• merrymaking
• lightheartedness
• jollity
• joviality
• gayness
• blissfulness
• hopefulness
• gleefulness
• enjoyment
• elatedness
• gladsomeness
• rapturousness
• mirthfulness
• contentment
• content
• sunniness
• contentedness

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of heartache

Since then, it's been decades of heartache offset by pockets of championship glory, with some of the most pivotal figures in American sports history. — Ryan Baker, CBS News, 22 June 2026

Leonhard-Hooper’s script is ovaries-to-the-wall zany, but there’s disturbance and heartache in it, too. — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 14 June 2026

But there is still constant heartache. — Natalia Jaramillo, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 June 2026

The documentary, which lands in theaters this weekend, creates a time capsule of videos, memories and eloquent observations that add up to work of incredible beauty and heartache. — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 3 June 2026