Meanings
plural heartbreaks
- countableuncountableOverwhelming mental anguish or grief, especially that caused by loss or disappointment.
1 more example
So while Ralph generally seems to inhabit a different, more glorious and joyful universe than everyone else here his yearning and heartbreak are eminently relateable. Ralph sometimes appears to be a magically demented sprite who has assumed the form of a boy, but he’s never been more poignantly, nakedly, movingly human than he is here.
2012 August 5, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “I Love Lisa” (season 4, episode 15; originally aired 02/11/1993)”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), archived from the original on 23 Oct 2013Synonyms: broken heart
Synonyms & antonyms
nounOverwhelming mental anguish or grief, especially that caused by loss or disappointment.
More synonyms by meaning
nounintense sorrow caused by loss of a loved one (especially by death)
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From heart + break. Compare heartache § Etymology.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian силна мъка, скръб
- силна мъка (silna măka)anguish
- скръб (skrăb)anguish
Chinese Mandarin 破心
- 破心anguish
Dutch hartzeer
- hartzeeranguish
French crève-cœur
- crève-cœuranguish
German Kummer, Herzeleid
- Kummeranguish
- Herzeleidanguish
Irish briseadh croí, crá croí
- briseadh croíanguish
- crá croíanguish
- croíbhriseadhanguish
Italian crepacuore
- crepacuoreanguish
Japanese 断腸
- 断腸 (danchō)anguish
Māori huamo, tūmatatenga
- huamoanguish
- tūmatatengaanguish
- ahoteaanguish
- pākikinianguish
Polish zawód miłosny
- zawód miłosnyanguish
Portuguese coração partido
- coração partidoanguish
Russian го́ре
- го́ре (góre)anguish
Scottish Gaelic bristeadh-cridhe
- bristeadh-cridheanguish
Spanish desamor, corazón roto
- desamoranguish
- corazón rotoanguish
- corazón destrozadoanguish
Welsh torcalondid
- torcalondidanguish
Cite this entry
heartbreak. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/heartbreak
“heartbreak.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/heartbreak. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “heartbreak,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/heartbreak.
Source: heartbreak on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.