1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

heartthrob

noun

Definition of heartthrobnext
as in hero
an attractive and usually famous man He is the latest in a series teen heartthrobs to capture the attention of many adolescents.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of heartthrob At the season 1 premiere, Blucas reflected on his full-circle journey, from playing teen heartthrobs in the ‘90s on shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer to now portraying a dad of teens on My Life With the Walter Boys. — Kelsey Lentz, PEOPLE, 6 Aug. 2026 And Odysseus isn't winning heartthrob of the year in Wilson's book. — Edward Segarra, USA Today, 28 July 2026 The former teen heartthrob was just 18 when he was cast in the 1980 movie opposite Brooke Shields. — Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 26 July 2026 Cory Monteith, who played the ultimate teen heartthrob Finn, tragically died at the age of 31 before the fifth season of the show. — Giovana Gelhoren, InStyle, 25 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for heartthrob
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heartthrob
  1. hero
  2. star
  3. personality
  4. name
Noun
  • Others insulted them, settling into the familiar wrestling roles of heroes and villains before ever stepping between the ropes.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Cassius accepted the hero award from the city of Miami Police Department at a ceremony recognizing his bravery on Wednesday.
    — Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of hero
Noun
  • The orbs on the notepad began to resemble planets and Heti added rings to some and clusters of stars around others.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Ellis provided her chic evening clutches to roughly a dozen stars, stylish women that included Allison Janney, Jean Smart, Olivia Munn, Carrie Coon and Awkwafina.
    — Laurie Brookins, HollywoodReporter, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of star
Noun
  • Predictable personalities are easier to follow and easier to share.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Yet each one of them has a personality different from every other baby ever born since there has been a world.
    — AJ Willingham, AJC.com, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of personality
Noun
  • Despite its name, only the flowering tuft of red oat grass is actually red.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2026
  • As the name suggests, The AlphaCore 800 doubles the capacity of its predecessor AlphaCore 400 and is designed to produce 800 barrels per day or 30,000 tonnes per year (30 kt/a) of FT output from a single reactor.
    — Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of name

Browse Nearby Words

heartstrings
heartthrob
heartthrobs
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Heartthrob.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heartthrob. Accessed 27 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 25
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of the words cracker fly and sale arranged in a triangle with the word fire in the middle
Triple Play Quiz Find the word that pairs with each of the three g...
See All