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
By Kathleen Walsh Following the news of her passing, Michelle Trachtenberg’s former costars and colleagues shared heartbreaking tributes to the actor.
—
Glamour, 26 Feb. 2025
Mills fell to Notre Dame in heartbreaking fashion last season in the Division III final.
—Darren Sabedra, The Mercury News, 26 Feb. 2025
In a separate post, Mendoza also recalled his recent interactions with Archangel-Ortiz, who received heartbreaking news at the hospital just days before the shooting.
—Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 26 Feb. 2025
There is something heartbreaking in Toby’s precious title being such a cliché—a fantasy inherited from a colonizer state, a dream of the limitations of its own reach and harm.
—Audrey Wollen, The New Yorker, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for heartbreaking
Glamour, 26 Feb. 2025
Mills fell to Notre Dame in heartbreaking fashion last season in the Division III final.
—Darren Sabedra, The Mercury News, 26 Feb. 2025
In a separate post, Mendoza also recalled his recent interactions with Archangel-Ortiz, who received heartbreaking news at the hospital just days before the shooting.
—Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 26 Feb. 2025
There is something heartbreaking in Toby’s precious title being such a cliché—a fantasy inherited from a colonizer state, a dream of the limitations of its own reach and harm.
—Audrey Wollen, The New Yorker, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for heartbreaking
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heartbreaking
Adjective
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Police sad officers began providing aid to Mitchell, but medics later pronounced him dead at the scene.—
Rosalio Ahumada,
Sacramento Bee,
4 Mar. 2025
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Oklahoma represents the sad conclusion of the Trail of Tears, and Tulsa serves as the meeting point for tribal nations—the Osage, Muscogee, and Cherokee.—
Nicholas Lalla,
WIRED,
4 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Because Indy has no knowledge of what is happening in the house, nor any awareness of what a haunted house even is in the first place, his reactions are scarier and more tragic than those of a human.—
Rafael Motamayor,
IndieWire,
10 Mar. 2025
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The tragic crash led to the deaths of three soldiers who were aboard the helicopter, as well as all 60 passengers and four crew members on the commercial flight.—
Natalia Senanayake,
People.com,
10 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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This is pathetic, as Russia would do everything in their power to interfere in that election.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
19 Feb. 2025
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This character is just like me – funny and sad, tragic, pathetic and brave, emotionally available but all over the place.—
Stuart Miller,
Orange County Register,
18 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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That depressing fact gets reiterated many times, without much variation or additional insight, during Running Point’s 10-episode season.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
27 Feb. 2025
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In this new techno-dating reality, the number of fights sparked by clothes being left on the floor would dramatically decrease, instead being replaced by not-at-all depressing scenes of men standing alone in their apartments talking to a speaker.—
Nic Juarez,
Vulture,
19 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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On Monday evening, within hours of learning of the directive, some state workers called the order stupid and unfortunate.—
William Melhado,
Sacramento Bee,
5 Mar. 2025
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Christie suffered from acute seasickness, unfortunate considering her trips to each continent were by ship.—
Nina Metz,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Its pitiful history includes only one application, less than a decade after its formulation, to strike down a delegation in Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, 295 U.S. 495 (1935).—
Marie Sapirie,
Forbes,
3 Mar. 2025
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Kubrick’s film is a hell of a black comedy that satirizes the mediocrity of middle-class life: 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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And another research team, using data from 2015 to 2022, observed in an article available in Energy Research and Social Science that poor income distribution correlates with social unrest when fossil fuel subsidies are removed.—
Aldo Flores-Quiroga,
Forbes,
1 Mar. 2025
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Federal workers got commendations, awards, positive reviews – and then were fired for 'poor performance' Taxes are coming.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA TODAY,
28 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Its economic position is parlous, its demographic situation is miserable and its military capacities have atrophied, and most of the chest-thumping about a revival of European power is empty talk and fantasy politics.—
Ross Douthat,
The Mercury News,
4 Mar. 2025
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But running — the exercise that can happen almost anywhere, any time and for very little expense — always felt miserable.—
Madeline Holcombe,
CNN,
2 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Heartbreaking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heartbreaking. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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