1
as in sad
causing unhappiness
couldn't bear to see the heartrending photos of victims of the famine
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2
as in painful
hard to accept or bear especially emotionally
a heartrending choice between saving his daughter or his son
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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
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4
as in pathetic
deserving of one's pity
the heartrending sight of a starving child holding out his hands for food
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of heartrending
The air was cooler up here, the signage sparing, the views of granite domes and uninterrupted forest vast and heartrending.
—
Gloria Liu, Outside Online, 22 Oct. 2025
The film blends documentary and fiction to tell the dramatic and heartrending story of Mongolian herders Davaasuren Dagvasuren and Otgonzaya Dashzeveg’s difficult decision to leave their homelands after the arrival of a powerful and destructive sandstorm.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 23 Sep. 2025
After the latest heartrending horse carriage incident, activists and some Big Apple officials renewed their calls to outlaw the industry.
—Nicholas Williams, New York Daily News, 10 Aug. 2025
In writing this book, Guralnick earned the trust of Parker’s second wife and widow, Loanne, who fills in some heartrending details.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 7 Aug. 2025
Friedland has drawn upon those experiences for her tender and heartrending debut feature, Familiar Touch.
—Lisa Wong MacAbasco, Vogue, 20 June 2025
It’s rooted in the same heartrending themes about tapping into power through passion, but sets itself apart by exploring the story through the specificity of Indian culture.
—Courtney Howard, Variety, 6 Mar. 2025
The awards season might be in full swing, but Small Things Like These deserves to be acknowledge for its outstanding direction and beautiful cinematography, as much as it should be recognized for the poignant and heartrending performances from Cillian Murphy and Emily Watson, particularly.
—Maelle Beauget-Uhl, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
Later, her anguish over his unjust plight—and her inability to rectify it—is both a galvanizing force and a heartrending reality.
—Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 13 Dec. 2024
Gloria Liu, Outside Online, 22 Oct. 2025
The film blends documentary and fiction to tell the dramatic and heartrending story of Mongolian herders Davaasuren Dagvasuren and Otgonzaya Dashzeveg’s difficult decision to leave their homelands after the arrival of a powerful and destructive sandstorm.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 23 Sep. 2025
After the latest heartrending horse carriage incident, activists and some Big Apple officials renewed their calls to outlaw the industry.
—Nicholas Williams, New York Daily News, 10 Aug. 2025
In writing this book, Guralnick earned the trust of Parker’s second wife and widow, Loanne, who fills in some heartrending details.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 7 Aug. 2025
Friedland has drawn upon those experiences for her tender and heartrending debut feature, Familiar Touch.
—Lisa Wong MacAbasco, Vogue, 20 June 2025
It’s rooted in the same heartrending themes about tapping into power through passion, but sets itself apart by exploring the story through the specificity of Indian culture.
—Courtney Howard, Variety, 6 Mar. 2025
The awards season might be in full swing, but Small Things Like These deserves to be acknowledge for its outstanding direction and beautiful cinematography, as much as it should be recognized for the poignant and heartrending performances from Cillian Murphy and Emily Watson, particularly.
—Maelle Beauget-Uhl, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
Later, her anguish over his unjust plight—and her inability to rectify it—is both a galvanizing force and a heartrending reality.
—Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 13 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heartrending
Adjective
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Everyone's a little sad in The Holdovers, Alexander Payne's charmingly sour comedy about a student stuck at his New England boarding school over the holidays with only his grouchy professor (Paul Giamatti) and the school cook (Da'Vine Joy Randolph) for company.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Nov. 2025
-
The 25-year-old wide receiver is sad to see his teammates go, but trusts the vision of the New York front office.—
Matt Audilet,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Ember Leonara, 36, tells Rolling Stone that coming out as transgender this year led to painful rifts in her life.—
Miles Klee,
Rolling Stone,
11 Nov. 2025
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But the track record is mixed—SoftBank’s backing of WeWork ended in a high-profile collapse, and the premature exit from Nvidia has become a painful reminder of opportunities lost.—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
11 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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In his first interview since the tragic events in May, Cacique, a Spanish nickname given to a local boss, said the turncoats hoped to receive a reward for the capture of Robert Colina, whose alias was Pantera, Spanish for panther.—
Antonio Maria Delgado,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
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Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott joined the rest of his teammates in having a tough day Thursday after learning of the tragic death of defensive lineman Marshawn Kneeland, who took his own life at the end of a police chase in Frisco.—
Nick Harris,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Enter Claude Whelan, played by James Callis, a fine actor with a face that can contort itself into about a dozen different versions of misery and pathetic dismay.—
Brian Grubb,
Vulture,
29 Oct. 2025
-
Ratcheting up the pressure on the pathetic Putin will be the only way this war ends.—
Chicago Tribune,
Twin Cities,
28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The Green Bay Packers suffered a brutal injury blow during their depressing Week 9 loss against the Carolina Panthers at home.—
Evan Massey,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Nov. 2025
-
Soon, the entire room was awash with clippings, each detailing a different duplicitous scheme — a depressing reflection of how scam culture was taking over my country, eroding our trust in each other.—
Snigdha Poonam,
The Dial,
28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
There's a lot of harsh words and harsh things that get said about people.—
Ryan Canfield,
FOXNews.com,
8 Nov. 2025
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Applying it at the base of the plant before the first frost can protect the roots from harsh cold and keep the soil from freezing.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Liverpool were competitive in the first half, and perhaps unfortunate to see Virgil van Dijk’s equaliser ruled out for interference from an offside position, but City pressed home their advantage through the brilliance of left-winger Jeremy Doku.—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
10 Nov. 2025
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The story takes place at a grand country house where the guests have an unfortunate habit of dying, or nearly dying, under seemingly unrelated circumstances.—
Anna Russell,
New Yorker,
10 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The Ministry of Environment blamed this year’s surge on a poor acorn harvest – which drove a similar spate of attacks in 2023.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
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Rather, the slow start (by Ovechkin’s standards) to this season seemed due more to poor puck luck.—
Sean Gentille,
New York Times,
6 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Heartrending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heartrending. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.
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