What does "heartbreak" mean?

Overwhelming mental anguish or grief, especially that caused by loss or disappointment.

What is a synonym for "heartbreak"?

Common synonyms include: grief, aching heart, affliction, agonizingness, agony, anguish.

Pronounced //ˈhɑːt.bɹeɪk//.

//ˈhɑːt.bɹeɪk// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Noun

1
Overwhelming mental anguish or grief, especially that caused by loss or disappointment. countable, uncountable
"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."
2
intense sorrow caused by loss of a loved one (especially by death) wordnet

"By the fiftieth heartbreak, rejection becomes much easier to handle."

From heart + break. Compare heartache § Etymology.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.