heartbreaking
adjective
heart·break·ing
ˈhärt-ˌbrā-kiŋ 
1
: causing intense sorrow or distress
heartbreaking news
a heartbreaking defeat
2
: producing an intense emotional reaction or response
heartbreaking beauty
Examples of heartbreaking in a Sentence
She wrote a heartbreaking story about the death of her grandfather.
It was heartbreaking to know that there was nothing I could do.
The team suffered another heartbreaking defeat.
Recent Examples on the Web
The uprisings, and specifically a heartbreaking photo that was taken during them, are often credited with helping to accelerate the end of the apartheid system.
—
Janice Gassam Asare, Forbes, 24 Mar. 2025
The Big Ten dominated the early goings of the NCAA Tournament, as Michigan’s comeback capped a 10-0 start by the conference before Wisconsin’s heartbreaking loss to BYU later Saturday.
—Sam Blum, The Athletic, 23 Mar. 2025
But the dominant feeling for me is this heartbreaking beauty.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 19 Mar. 2025
The film follows an ensemble of campers who are weary of platitudes about grief, and speak to one another from a place of radical honesty that is by turns heartbreaking and darkly hilarious, embracing irreverent humor as a cathartic means of self-expression.
—Addie Morfoot, Variety, 19 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for heartbreaking
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Janice Gassam Asare, Forbes, 24 Mar. 2025
The Big Ten dominated the early goings of the NCAA Tournament, as Michigan’s comeback capped a 10-0 start by the conference before Wisconsin’s heartbreaking loss to BYU later Saturday.
—Sam Blum, The Athletic, 23 Mar. 2025
But the dominant feeling for me is this heartbreaking beauty.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 19 Mar. 2025
The film follows an ensemble of campers who are weary of platitudes about grief, and speak to one another from a place of radical honesty that is by turns heartbreaking and darkly hilarious, embracing irreverent humor as a cathartic means of self-expression.
—Addie Morfoot, Variety, 19 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for heartbreaking
Cite this Entry
“Heartbreaking.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heartbreaking. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.
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