1
as in sad
causing unhappiness
couldn't bear to see the heartrending photos of victims of the famine
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in painful
hard to accept or bear especially emotionally
a heartrending choice between saving his daughter or his son
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in tragic
of a kind to cause great distress
heartrending memories of all the terrible crimes he'd committed and was sorry for now
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in pathetic
deserving of one's pity
the heartrending sight of a starving child holding out his hands for food
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of heartrending
For Emma, the heartrending decision became clear came the night the police descended on her North Miami neighborhood.
—
Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2026
His appearance, stopping them in their tracks, is one of the most heartrending moments of any movie.
—John Penner, Los Angeles Times, 8 Jan. 2026
The air was cooler up here, the signage sparing, the views of granite domes and uninterrupted forest vast and heartrending.
—Gloria Liu, Outside Online, 22 Oct. 2025
The film blends documentary and fiction to tell the dramatic and heartrending story of Mongolian herders Davaasuren Dagvasuren and Otgonzaya Dashzeveg’s difficult decision to leave their homelands after the arrival of a powerful and destructive sandstorm.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 23 Sep. 2025
After the latest heartrending horse carriage incident, activists and some Big Apple officials renewed their calls to outlaw the industry.
—Nicholas Williams, New York Daily News, 10 Aug. 2025
In writing this book, Guralnick earned the trust of Parker’s second wife and widow, Loanne, who fills in some heartrending details.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 7 Aug. 2025
Friedland has drawn upon those experiences for her tender and heartrending debut feature, Familiar Touch.
—Lisa Wong MacAbasco, Vogue, 20 June 2025
It’s rooted in the same heartrending themes about tapping into power through passion, but sets itself apart by exploring the story through the specificity of Indian culture.
—Courtney Howard, Variety, 6 Mar. 2025
Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2026
His appearance, stopping them in their tracks, is one of the most heartrending moments of any movie.
—John Penner, Los Angeles Times, 8 Jan. 2026
The air was cooler up here, the signage sparing, the views of granite domes and uninterrupted forest vast and heartrending.
—Gloria Liu, Outside Online, 22 Oct. 2025
The film blends documentary and fiction to tell the dramatic and heartrending story of Mongolian herders Davaasuren Dagvasuren and Otgonzaya Dashzeveg’s difficult decision to leave their homelands after the arrival of a powerful and destructive sandstorm.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 23 Sep. 2025
After the latest heartrending horse carriage incident, activists and some Big Apple officials renewed their calls to outlaw the industry.
—Nicholas Williams, New York Daily News, 10 Aug. 2025
In writing this book, Guralnick earned the trust of Parker’s second wife and widow, Loanne, who fills in some heartrending details.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 7 Aug. 2025
Friedland has drawn upon those experiences for her tender and heartrending debut feature, Familiar Touch.
—Lisa Wong MacAbasco, Vogue, 20 June 2025
It’s rooted in the same heartrending themes about tapping into power through passion, but sets itself apart by exploring the story through the specificity of Indian culture.
—Courtney Howard, Variety, 6 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heartrending
Adjective
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Meanwhile, Nancy Guthrie's Arizona community gathered for a vigil Wednesday evening while the world can't look away from an incident that is deeply, horrifically sad and frightening.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA Today,
5 Feb. 2026
-
The song is sophisticated and simple, sad and somehow triumphant.—
Jed Gottlieb,
Boston Herald,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Knee-assist devices and exoskeletons often use simple bearings placed near the knee, which can create painful misalignment because a real knee hinges but also shifts, rolls, and slides.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Feb. 2026
-
After 35 rounds of radiation and painful robotic surgery on his tongue, Coulier can finally begin to recover from his cancer battle.—
Lauryn Overhultz,
FOXNews.com,
8 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The fire department believes the tragic crash was an accident, not an intentional criminal act.—
David Zimmermann,
The Washington Examiner,
6 Feb. 2026
-
At first, that seems at odds with Aleys’s tragic fate.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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These clowns don't even have the courage of their pathetic White supremacist convictions.—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
6 Feb. 2026
-
This kind of Jim Crow–style dehumanization is pathetic and a disgrace to the office.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Firstly, the jail is depressing and the people who work there are not always nice, particularly to reporters.—
Marla Jo Fisher,
Oc Register,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Despite this, black-market Stingers have had a depressing tendency to surface in conflicts around the world.—
David Szondy
February 08,
New Atlas,
8 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The energy output is designed to remain stable down to –50 degrees Celsius, supporting reliable operation in some of the harshest climates on Earth, reports InsideEVs.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Rapinchuk recommends only using non-toxic products when cleaning your refrigerator and avoiding anything with harsh chemicals, such as bleach and ammonia.—
Madeline Buiano,
Martha Stewart,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
And that’s how the forward ended up under a too-bright light at the end of this season, burdened with the unfortunate responsibility of being one of the few players the front office felt was worth investing in long term.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Feb. 2026
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After Ellis’ unfortunate and sudden passing in 1986, Marc Jacobs was named creative director of the brand in 1988.—
Fairchild Studio,
Footwear News,
13 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Semmann said stores raise prices primarily in response to supply chain issues, such as poor harvests, changes to international trade policy or increasing logistical costs.—
Francesca Pica,
jsonline.com,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Boating conditions are poor across offshore waters south of Cape Canaveral, while small craft need to exercise caution near the inlets.—
Garfield Hylton,
The Orlando Sentinel,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Heartrending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heartrending. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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