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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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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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
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
The awards season might be in full swing, but Small Things Like These deserves to be acknowledge for its outstanding direction and beautiful cinematography, as much as it should be recognized for the poignant and heartrending performances from Cillian Murphy and Emily Watson, particularly.
—Maelle Beauget-Uhl, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
Garfield’s aptitude for self-conscious interiority and expertly modifying the tone and intensity of his performance is perfectly suited for the earnest, chaotic and heartrending demands of this modern dramedy.
—Rory Doherty, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2024
In its most heartrending section, a physical manifestation of the broken mother-child bond, 144 teak drawers slide open to display delicate objects that had been severed in half.
—Maria Laurino, The New Republic, 29 June 2023
Those possibilities become still more heartrending when Allison is allowed out on parole for a day, in scenes that Breslin plays with a wrenching mix of toughness, resignation and despair.
—Christi Carras, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2021
Courtney Howard, Variety, 6 Mar. 2025
The awards season might be in full swing, but Small Things Like These deserves to be acknowledge for its outstanding direction and beautiful cinematography, as much as it should be recognized for the poignant and heartrending performances from Cillian Murphy and Emily Watson, particularly.
—Maelle Beauget-Uhl, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
Garfield’s aptitude for self-conscious interiority and expertly modifying the tone and intensity of his performance is perfectly suited for the earnest, chaotic and heartrending demands of this modern dramedy.
—Rory Doherty, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2024
In its most heartrending section, a physical manifestation of the broken mother-child bond, 144 teak drawers slide open to display delicate objects that had been severed in half.
—Maria Laurino, The New Republic, 29 June 2023
Those possibilities become still more heartrending when Allison is allowed out on parole for a day, in scenes that Breslin plays with a wrenching mix of toughness, resignation and despair.
—Christi Carras, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heartrending
Adjective
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Family members and two of his lawyers say he was diagnosed with severe PTSD, a sad and rapid fall that ended in another explosion of violence.—
Nicholas Williams,
New York Daily News,
16 Mar. 2025
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Some potential sad news from the wild kingdom: the bald eagle couple Jackie and Shadow, who have become online stars, may have lost one of their three eaglets amid a snowstorm.—
Mike Snider,
USA TODAY,
14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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While that decline was painful for COST holders, the stock bottomed in mid-May, five months before the S & P 500 ultimately found its own low in October 2022.—
Frank Cappelleri,
CNBC,
12 Mar. 2025
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Like witnessing a bad car crash, Ye’s (formerly known as Kanye West) latest episodes of hate speech and misogyny have been painful to watch and continue to elicit shock and dismay from every corner of the entertainment world.—
David Renzer,
Rolling Stone,
12 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The tragic consequence is that today Putinism is advancing across Europe and the United States.—
Michael McFaul,
The Atlantic,
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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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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How to decide which of these pathetic characters will get his fading masculinity restored?—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
2 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Still, overall traffic expectations in Meridian are basically pretty depressing.—
Michael Deeds,
Idaho Statesman,
12 Mar. 2025
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Depending on your point of view, either the depressing vibes outweigh the gorgeous animation or the gorgeous animation outweighs the depressing vibes.—
Jeremy Fassler,
Vulture,
2 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The Patriots are paying for potential more than immediate production, so the F grade feels harsh.—
Faisal Kutty,
Newsweek,
12 Mar. 2025
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Nestled within denser parts of the clouds, the water would have been protected from being destroyed by harsh radiation from nearby stars, Latif said.—
Sharmila Kuthunur,
Space.com,
12 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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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
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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
Adjective
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But there is another concerning trend and area that has to be improved — their poor record on second balls.—
Rob Tanner,
The Athletic,
14 Mar. 2025
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Without a clear profit strategy, high sales numbers can mask underlying issues like bloated expenses, poor cash flow, or razor-thin margins.—
Melissa Houston,
Forbes,
13 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Heartrending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heartrending. Accessed 19 Mar. 2025.
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