heart-wrenching

Meaning

1. 1adjectivecomparable

   Causing deep sorrow or pity, so painful to see or hear that it almost hurts physically.

   Grammar: Can go before a noun or after be: a heart-wrenching story; the news was heart-wrenching.

   Patterns

   • heart-wrenching to watch
   • a heart-wrenching story

   The film ends with a heart-wrenching goodbye at the train station.

   It was heart-wrenching to see the family leave their flooded home.

   She gave a heart-wrenching speech about losing her sister.

Word forms

Common combinations

heart-wrenching story

The heart-wrenching story moved the whole audience.

heart-wrenching decision

Selling the family farm was a heart-wrenching decision.

heart-wrenching scene

There is a heart-wrenching scene near the end of the movie.

absolutely heart-wrenching

The reunion was absolutely heart-wrenching.

heart-wrenching to watch

It is heart-wrenching to watch a friend struggle like that.

Synonyms and how they differ

heartbreaking

Heartbreaking is the most common equivalent, while heart-wrenching suggests a stronger, more twisting pain.

harrowing

Harrowing stresses fear and distress during an ordeal, not just sadness.

poignant

Poignant is gentler and mixes sadness with tenderness, so it is less intense than heart-wrenching.

distressing

Distressing is a plain, general word and lacks the emotional weight of heart-wrenching.

Opposites

Word family

wrench verb

to twist or pull something violently

heartbreak noun

overwhelming sadness, especially after a loss

heartbreaking adjective

causing great sadness

heart-wrenchingly adverb

in a way that causes deep sorrow

Commonly confused: heart-wrenching or heart-warming?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “heart-wrenching”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words