Log in or Sign up

Definitions

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. Overpowering with anguish; deeply afflictive; very distressing.

Wiktionary

  1. adj. That causes great grief, anguish or distress
  2. adj. That elicits deep sympathy

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. adj. Causing intense grief; overpowering with anguish; very distressing.

WordNet 3.0

  1. adj. causing or marked by grief or anguish

Examples

  • “A heartrending story written in heartrending style, compassionate and pinpoint accurate as usual.”

    Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands. « POLICE INSPECTOR BLOG

  • “Stunning, charming, and heartrending is Michel Gagné's opening number, "Underworld," an entirely wordless piece about a brave little fox.”

    Book Review: Flight Volume 3

  • “He described the subsequent scene as "heartrending," adding that, were it up to him, he "would remove every Indian tomorrow beyond the reach of the white men who, like vultures, are watching, ready to pounce upon their prey and strip them of everything they have.”

    The Wall Street Journal: Excerpts: 'Making Our Democracy Work: A Judge's View'

  • “Delegates had no excuse for not doing everything possible to uplift the disadvantaged, because they knew the "heartrending" reality the poor experienced.”

    ANC Daily News Briefing

  • “And so the department began to gear up for a long spell of defensive maneuvering, knowing exactly what kind of heartrending twaddle would be coming from the brave and fearless foot soldiers of the fifth estate.”

    DarklyDreamingDexter

  • “I am quite sure," she said, with a kind of heartrending cheerfulness,”

    The Clique of Gold

  • “Paul Carey, who was Ernie Harwell's partner on Tigers broadcasts for 19 seasons, said it's "heartrending" to see Harwell deal with his terminal cancer.”

    Michiguide.com: Michigan's Guide to Radio and Television Broadcasting

  • “-- Paul Carey, who was Ernie Harwell's partner on Tigers broadcasts for 19 seasons, said it's "heartrending" to see Harwell deal with his terminal cancer.”

    Freep.com - RSS

  • “Prosecutor: Juvenile sexual assault is 'heartrending

    CNN.com

  • “This auditory pulling of the ropes is capable of piercing and opening your reception to heartrending music.”

    Simon & Schuster: The Bushman Way of Tracking God

Show 10 more examples...

Lists

‘heartrending’ hasn't been added to any lists yet.

Comments

No comments yet...

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

‘heartrending’ has been looked up 874 times, loved by 1 person, added to 2 lists, and has a Scrabble score of 17.