as in sorrow
deep sadness especially for the loss of someone or something loved
I understand the heartbreak you must feel over your grandmother's death
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Recent Examples of heartbreak
The daughter, recognizing that her mother needed a reprieve from the heartbreak, didn’t choose a spa or a favorite restaurant.
—
Carolyn Stein, Chicago Tribune, 2 Apr. 2026
The Honeymoon, based on McCullah’s original pitch and in development at TriStar, follows a focused and driven woman who experiences sudden heartbreak just days before her wedding.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 2 Apr. 2026
Tigga, meanwhile, at 14 years old, suffered the kind of heartbreak that is sadly all too common among senior dogs at the shelter.
—Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026
In those almost unimaginable hours and days of anguish and heartbreak, Alastair had already read extracts to him from Arsene Wenger’s autobiography — a Christmas present that Adam had not yet read.
—Daniel Taylor, New York Times, 31 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for heartbreak
Carolyn Stein, Chicago Tribune, 2 Apr. 2026
The Honeymoon, based on McCullah’s original pitch and in development at TriStar, follows a focused and driven woman who experiences sudden heartbreak just days before her wedding.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 2 Apr. 2026
Tigga, meanwhile, at 14 years old, suffered the kind of heartbreak that is sadly all too common among senior dogs at the shelter.
—Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026
In those almost unimaginable hours and days of anguish and heartbreak, Alastair had already read extracts to him from Arsene Wenger’s autobiography — a Christmas present that Adam had not yet read.
—Daniel Taylor, New York Times, 31 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for heartbreak
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heartbreak
Noun
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Of those witnesses, only one testified to seeing Tex show any signs of sorrow.—
Lauren A. White,
CBS News,
2 Apr. 2026
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Redemptive suffering Shared sorrow is a key part of Iran’s Twelver Shiite identity, which venerates the Prophet Muhammad’s family through daughter Fatima and cousin and son-in-law, Ali.—
Mary Thurlkill,
The Conversation,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Both reflect a deep passion for a particular place—Johnson’s Middle Tennessee, Hiaasen’s South Florida—and a mixture of exasperation and grief at the destruction of the natural world to make room for megamansions and toxic waste dumps.—
Francine Prose,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Apr. 2026
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Lawrence explained that the series was originally designed around a three-season arc focusing on grief, forgiveness and moving forward.—
Kennedy French,
Variety,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Large statues of the Virgin Mary show her in various states of mourning, even in anguish.—
Alexis Marshall,
NPR,
3 Apr. 2026
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Without a diagnosis, people are unsure about how a condition might progress over time, and this can be a great source of anguish for both patients and their families.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Heartbreak.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heartbreak. Accessed 9 Apr. 2026.
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