heartrending
Americanadjective
-
causing or expressing intense grief, anguish, or distress.
Other Word Forms
- heartrendingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of heartrending
First recorded in 1680–90; heart + rending ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called it "absolutely heartrending" and Kohli said he was "at a loss for words" after the tragedy.
From Barron's • Nov. 6, 2025
Pelphrey delivers the area’s signature elocution with absolute assurance, although his heartrending concoction of Robbie’s kindness and despair leaves a deeper impression than the way he speaks.
From Salon • Sep. 7, 2025
Pensive, melodic, uplifting, and heartrending – it's his best album yet.
From BBC • Feb. 16, 2025
It was a pleasant summer day along the waters off the coast of Guanacaste, Costa Rica when marine biologist Christine Figgener captured the heartrending video that sparked the movement to ban plastic straws.
From National Geographic • Dec. 12, 2023
The conductor lifts his baton, and I'm invigorated hearing the familiar passages: the drone of the double bass as the heartrending introduction begins, the strings peeling away layers like birch bark.
From "What the Night Sings" by Vesper Stamper
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.