Dictionary

heartbreaking en · ADJ

Etymology

From heart + breaking.

Meanings

1. That causes great grief, anguish or distress.
   • Things went well with the clearing on Friday, but by Saturday, February 3, a 70 m.p.h. blizzard set in, and against such heartbreaking conditions, although an effort was made with the plough to keep open the sections cleared on the previous day, ground was gradually lost, [...]. 1941 April, “Notes and News: Railwaymen and Snow”, in Railway Magazine, page 177:
   • Near-synonyms: heartrending, heartwrenching
   • But even with these caveats, it remains a stunning and heartbreaking piece of cinema that strikes a particular chord with LGBTQ+ viewers. 2025 June 20, Nick Levine, “'In every theatre, people would leave': How 'gay cowboy movie' Brokeback Mountain challenged Hollywood – and the US”, in BBC:

Forms

Deriveds

heartbreakingness · heartbreakingly

Synonyms

heartwrenching · heartrending

Translations (21)

pl łamiący serce (That causes great grief, anguish or distress) · vi đau lòng (That causes great grief, anguish or distress) · mi tarariki (That causes great grief, anguish or distress) · sh srceparajući (That causes great grief, anguish or distress) · pt de partir o coração (That causes great grief, anguish or distress) · ga coscrach (That causes great grief, anguish or distress) · uk нестя́мний (That causes great grief, anguish or distress) · grc θυμαλγής (That causes great grief, anguish or distress) · es desgarrador (That causes great grief, anguish or distress) · ru душераздира́ющий (That causes great grief, anguish or distress) · ml ഹൃദയഭേദകമായ (That causes great grief, anguish or distress) · uk розпа́чливий (That causes great grief, anguish or distress) · sh srcerazdirući (That causes great grief, anguish or distress) · fr déchirant (That causes great grief, anguish or distress) · sk srdcervúci (That causes great grief, anguish or distress) · es desolador (That causes great grief, anguish or distress) · pl rozdzierający serce (That causes great grief, anguish or distress) · fr navrant (That causes great grief, anguish or distress) · bg сърцераздирателен (That causes great grief, anguish or distress) · es devastador (That causes great grief, anguish or distress) · de herzzerreißend (That causes great grief, anguish or distress)

heartbreaking en · NOUN

Etymology

From heart + breaking.

Meanings

1. The breaking of a heart; great grief, anguish or distress.
   • One could argue that Eliot's "great heartbreakings" were the overt physical signs of the inner psychological transformations achieved through brainwashing, cultural attack, and epidemic mortality. 1999, Karen Gayton Swisher, John Tippeconnic, Next Steps: Research and Practice to Advance Indian Education, page 17:

Forms

Relateds

heartbreak · heartbroken · break someone's heart · heartbreaker