Synonyms of heartrending

heartrending

adjective

ˈhärt-ˌren-diŋ 

1

as in sad

causing unhappiness

couldn't bear to see the heartrending photos of victims of the famine

Synonyms & Similar Words

• sad
• depressing
• heartbreaking
• pathetic
• mournful
• tearful
• unfortunate
• melancholy
• disturbing
• saddening
• teary
• dismal
• dreary
• drear
• sorry
• distressful
• distressing
• poignant
• lamentable
• deplorable
• touching
• moving
• disquieting
• grievous
• discomforting
• perturbing
• woeful
• disheartening
• dispiriting
• affecting
• discouraging
• discomposing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• happy
• glad
• inspiring
• cheery
• heartening
• uplifting
• stirring
• stimulating
• pleasant
• delightful
• satisfying
• pleasing
• agreeable
• heartwarming
• cheering
• enjoyable
• welcome
• pleasurable
• thrilling
• exhilarating

2

as in painful

hard to accept or bear especially emotionally

a heartrending choice between saving his daughter or his son

Synonyms & Similar Words

• painful
• harsh
• cruel
• torturous
• harrowing
• agonizing
• terrible
• excruciating
• horrible
• bitter
• hurtful
• grievous
• galling
• severe
• unacceptable
• awful
• unbearable
• tormenting
• dreadful
• afflicting
• intolerable
• dire
• intense
• bad
• appalling
• unendurable
• insupportable
• miserable
• vile
• insufferable
• ghastly
• extreme
• acute
• unsupportable
• wretched
• nasty
• rotten
• piercing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• sweet
• gratifying
• pleasing
• bearable
• tolerable
• sustainable
• endurable
• supportable
• acceptable
• survivable
• reasonable
• livable
• allowable
• liveable
• sufferable

3

as in tragic

of a kind to cause great distress

heartrending memories of all the terrible crimes he'd committed and was sorry for now

Synonyms & Similar Words

• tragic
• unfortunate
• tragical
• terrible
• distressing
• heartbreaking
• shocking
• painful
• horrible
• regrettable
• grievous
• disturbing
• lamentable
• deplorable
• distressful
• woeful
• unsettling
• dire
• sad
• unlucky
• sickening
• poignant
• awful
• severe
• dreadful
• pitiful
• piteous
• unbearable
• disastrous
• harrowing
• fearful
• miserable
• doleful
• troublesome
• traumatic
• alarming
• moving
• crushing
• touching
• horrifying
• overwhelming
• vexatious
• wretched
• excruciating
• intolerable
• affecting
• perturbing
• calamitous
• ruthful
• sharp
• raging

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• rewarding
• satisfying
• gratifying
• pleasing
• heartening
• comforting
• encouraging
• inspiring
• fortunate
• happy
• heartwarming
• lucky
• cheering

4

as in pathetic

deserving of one's pity

the heartrending sight of a starving child holding out his hands for food

Synonyms & Similar Words

• pathetic
• poor
• pitiful
• wretched
• miserable
• sorry
• heartbreaking
• pitiable
• piteous
• sad
• disturbing
• horrible
• rueful
• emotional
• terrible
• poignant
• impressive
• inspiring
• mournful
• regrettable
• lamentable
• distressing
• deplorable
• moving
• awful
• touching
• stirring
• sorrowful
• affecting
• grievous
• upsetting
• woeful

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• unimpressive
• uninspiring

Examples of heartrending in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In its most heartrending section, a physical manifestation of the broken mother-child bond, 144 teak drawers slide open to display delicate objects that had been severed in half. —Maria Laurino, The New Republic, 29 June 2023

Those possibilities become still more heartrending when Allison is allowed out on parole for a day, in scenes that Breslin plays with a wrenching mix of toughness, resignation and despair. —Christi Carras, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2021