Heartrending

Pronunciation: /hɑːrtˈrɛndɪŋ/

Definitions of heartrending

adjective causing or involving great sadness or distress; very distressing

Example Sentences

A1 The movie's ending was heartrending.

A2 The story of the orphaned puppy was heartrending.

B1 The heartrending tale of lost love left me in tears.

B2 The documentary about the war's impact on families was truly heartrending.

C1 The novel's heartrending descriptions of poverty and suffering were deeply moving.

C2 The artist's heartrending portrayal of human emotion captured the attention of critics worldwide.

Examples of heartrending in a Sentence

formal The documentary about the war refugees' stories was truly heartrending.

informal I watched a movie last night that was so heartrending, I couldn't stop crying.

slang The ending of that book was so heartrending, I was a mess.

figurative The sight of the abandoned puppy was heartrending, tugging at my emotions.

Grammatical Forms of heartrending

• past tense: heartrended
• plural: heartrendings
• comparative: more heartrending
• superlative: most heartrending
• present tense: heartrend
• future tense: will heartrend
• perfect tense: have heartrended
• continuous tense: is heartrending
• singular: heartrending
• positive degree: heartrending
• infinitive: to heartrend
• gerund: heartrending
• participle: heartrending

Origin and Evolution of heartrending

First Known Use: 1601 year

Language of Origin: Old English

Story behind the word: The word 'heartrending' originated from the Old English word 'heortan' meaning 'heart' and 'rendan' meaning 'to tear apart'.

Evolution of the word: Originally used to describe something that caused great emotional pain or distress, the word 'heartrending' has evolved to also convey a sense of deep sympathy or compassion towards the subject of the emotion.