Synonyms of heartbreak

heartbreak

noun

ˈhärt-ˌbrāk 

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of heartbreak

Inside the losing clubhouse, there wasn’t the same level of heartbreak as a season ago at Dodger Stadium. — Matt Gelb, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2026

And because these actors are all so strong and the direction is so affirmative, the comedy and heartbreak in the writing pop off the stage right into your lap. — Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 29 Sep. 2026

The way Layla processed that information and lived in the heartbreak was so beautifully nuanced by Greta Onieogou and perfectly captured by the director of that episode, David McWhirter. — Katie Campione, Deadline, 24 Sep. 2026

From puberty and first heartbreak to career pivots and, for some, motherhood, women are thrown into an endless evolution of identity that comes with simply being alive. — Partner Content, Variety, 23 Sep. 2026