1
as in sad
causing unhappiness
a heartbreaking story of a family torn asunder by war
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in tragic
of a kind to cause great distress
the heartbreaking state of Main Street now that most of the businesses have closed
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in pathetic
deserving of one's pity
a heartbreaking attempt to escape that ends in disaster
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of heartbreaking
The 1980s-era California setting and the heartbreaking performances by Mackenzie Davis and Gugu Mbatha-Raw combine to make what should be a rather prosaic love story.
—
Steve Greene, IndieWire, 12 Apr. 2025
This episode does a particularly nice job of juxtaposing light and heartbreaking moments.
—Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 11 Apr. 2025
What happened shortly after Dumas’ visit was the first of nine heartbreaking miscarriages over a span of five years.
—Essence, 11 Apr. 2025
After 15 long and grueling hours of maverick medical procedures, heartbreaking losses, and nightmarish IV-drilling sounds, our day-shift friends at the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center can finally go home.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 11 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for heartbreaking
Steve Greene, IndieWire, 12 Apr. 2025
This episode does a particularly nice job of juxtaposing light and heartbreaking moments.
—Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 11 Apr. 2025
What happened shortly after Dumas’ visit was the first of nine heartbreaking miscarriages over a span of five years.
—Essence, 11 Apr. 2025
After 15 long and grueling hours of maverick medical procedures, heartbreaking losses, and nightmarish IV-drilling sounds, our day-shift friends at the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center can finally go home.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 11 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for heartbreaking
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heartbreaking
Adjective
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Kwong grew up hearing stories of every kind about Manzanar—scary, sad, funny and infuriating.—
Rachel Ng,
Smithsonian Magazine,
27 Mar. 2025
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Yet, whatever the deal means for Paul, Weiss, its acquiescence to Trump marks a sad day for the legal profession—or what once was a profession, and is now just another business.—
Ruth Marcus,
New Yorker,
27 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The December fatal shooting of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson allegedly by Luigi Mangione serves as an extreme and tragic example.—
T. Christian Miller,
ProPublica,
12 Apr. 2025
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Season 3 of Yellowjackets premiered in February 2025 and continued the story of a high school girls’ soccer team whose journey to a national championship turned tragic when their plane crashed in the Canadian wilderness.—
Monica Mercuri,
Forbes.com,
11 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Michael Gandolfini pops up as a slimy Fisk mayoral staffer who wouldn’t look out of place in this magazine’s recent cover featuring the new young right, and his playing both pathetic and vaguely sympathetic is very fun to watch.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
4 Mar. 2025
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One of the most pathetic symbols of the new manosphere is Mark Zuckerberg.—
Robert B. Reich,
Hartford Courant,
4 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Some people thought that was too depressing or whatever.—
Monica Mercuri,
Forbes.com,
7 Apr. 2025
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Many learned the depressing answer only when trying to scan badges and getting rejected by security, which treated them more or less like trespassers.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
5 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The self-deportation of a University of Florida student reveals the new reality for many immigrants — any brush with the law can set off a chain of unfortunate events.—
Clara-Sophia Daly,
Miami Herald,
10 Apr. 2025
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This ancestor of mine was born at a good time for ornate garments, but at an unfortunate time and place for tuberculosis.—
Denise Snodell,
Kansas City Star,
9 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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But the modern Democratic Party, rudderless and confused and reeling from a pitiful collective performance during Tuesday evening's presidential joint address to Congress, now confronts a fork in the road that's no joke.—
Newsweek,
Newsweek,
7 Mar. 2025
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In the director’s world, fathers are pitiful providers, mothers are blandly cheerful (while quietly suffering enormously), and the kids see far more than their parents do.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
21 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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In fact, the massive, albeit picturesque, gullies were made because of poor farming practices during the 1800s.—
Nicole Letts,
Southern Living,
21 Mar. 2025
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Each site has a different interface, often poor or glitchy.—
Jaron Lanier,
The New Yorker,
22 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Before Minecraft, the turnout for major films at the box office has been middling to miserable.—
Tim Lammers,
Forbes.com,
9 Apr. 2025
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Daryl was born in 1952, four years after the club’s last championship and just in time for four decades of miserable baseball on the lakeshore.—
Zack Meisel,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Heartbreaking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heartbreaking. Accessed 18 Apr. 2025.
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