heartbreaking

CEFRB2

/hˈɑˌrtbreɪkɪŋ/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

01
adjective
Causing great sadness or emotional pain.
02
adjective
Extra detail
The breaking of a heart; great grief, anguish or distress.

Examples

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Deep Dive

Extra meaning

In context

Dan revealed heartbreaking truths.
Near-synonyms: heartrending, heartwrenching
But even with these caveats, it remains a stunning and heartbreaking piece of cinema that strikes a particular chord with LGBTQ+ viewers.

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Question 1 · Quick check

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The word in print, with each source given in full.

But even with these caveats, it remains a stunning and heartbreaking piece of cinema that strikes a particular chord with LGBTQ+ viewers.
2025 June 20, Nick Levine, “'In every theatre, people would leave': How 'gay cowboy movie' Brokeback Mountain challenged Hollywood – and the US”, in BBC
Things went well with the clearing on Friday, but by Saturday, February 3, a 70 m.p.h. blizzard set in, and against such heartbreaking conditions, although an effort was made with the plough to keep open the sections cleared on the previous day, ground was gradually lost, [...].
1941 April, “Notes and News: Railwaymen and Snow”, in Railway Magazine, page 177
One could argue that Eliot's "great heartbreakings" were the overt physical signs of the inner psychological transformations achieved through brainwashing, cultural attack, and epidemic mortality.
1999, Karen Gayton Swisher, John Tippeconnic, Next Steps: Research and Practice to Advance Indian Education, page 17

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From heart + breaking.