heartrending

[ hahrt-ren-ding ]
See synonyms for heartrending on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. causing or expressing intense grief, anguish, or distress.

Origin of heartrending

1
First recorded in 1680–90; heart + rending

Other words from heartrending

  • heart·rend·ing·ly, adverb

Words that may be confused with heartrending

Words Nearby heartrending

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use heartrending in a sentence

  • As she twisted his great red ear, the agonized cries of Johnny became heartrending.

  • The unfortunate sufferers presented a heartrending picture, worthy of the painter of the Deluge.

  • She spent days in worshipping the small divinity of his person, and in the contemplation of his heartrending human attributes.

    The Creators | May Sinclair
  • This was really heartrending when the difference in fare for three persons would be at least twenty dollars.

  • I saw none of those heartrending tragic scenes of parting, none of the wild grief that grows so much wilder for being indulged.

    The Relief of Mafeking | Filson Young

British Dictionary definitions for heart-rending

heart-rending

adjective
  1. causing great mental pain and sorrow

Derived forms of heart-rending

  • heart-rendingly, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012