heartbreak
When affection shatters
Heartbreak is the crushing emotional pain that follows loss—especially the end of a romantic relationship or the death of someone loved.
The word captures how grief can feel physical, as if the heart itself has been damaged.
A heartbreak can also be any devastating disappointment: It was a heartbreak to see the old theater torn down.
Sustained experience of distress
- agonyExtreme physical or emotional pain
- tormentSevere prolonged suffering
- painBodily or emotional distress
- distressSevere anxiety or suffering
misery · sorrow · devastation · ache · hurt · woe · desolation · wretchedness
Being without something
- bereavementState following loss
- mourningPeriod following loss
- sorrowDeep emotional distress
- grievingFeeling sorrow after loss
tears · sobbing · weeping · lamentation · emptiness · loneliness · yearning · longing
Romantic relationship's termination
- divorceLegal end of matrimony
- separationState of being apart
- unrequitedNot returned in kind
- one-sidedUnfairly weighted toward one
rejection · dumped · split · parting · ended · over · goodbye · letting go
Disloyalty to a partner
- cheatingDeceptive rule-breaking
- unfaithfulnessBreach of romantic commitment
- disloyaltyBreach of allegiance
- deceptionIntentional misleading of others
treachery · backstabbing · double-cross · perfidy · duplicity · rejection · abandonment · jilted
State without hope
- dejectionState of lowness
- depressionProlonged low state
- melancholySubdued, lasting sadness
- bleaknessQuality of being dreary
gloom · darkness · numbness · despondency · forlornness · rock bottom · abyss · spiral
Restoration of health
- mendingRestoring damaged items
- copingManaging under strain
- acceptanceConsent to receive
- resilienceCapacity to recover quickly
therapy · self-care · time heals · rebuild · renewal · growth · strength · closure
suffering
Sustained experience of distress
- agonyExtreme physical or emotional pain
- tormentSevere prolonged suffering
- painBodily or emotional distress
distress · misery · sorrow · devastation · ache · hurt · woe · desolation · wretchedness · brokenness
loss
Being without something
- bereavementState following loss
- mourningPeriod following loss
- sorrowDeep emotional distress
grieving · tears · sobbing · weeping · lamentation · emptiness · loneliness · yearning · longing · pining
breakup
Romantic relationship's termination
- divorceLegal end of matrimony
- separationState of being apart
- unrequitedNot returned in kind
one-sided · rejection · dumped · split · parting · ended · over · goodbye · letting go · moving on
infidelity
Disloyalty to a partner
- cheatingDeceptive rule-breaking
- unfaithfulnessBreach of romantic commitment
- disloyaltyBreach of allegiance
deception · treachery · backstabbing · double-cross · perfidy · duplicity · rejection · abandonment · jilted · ghosting
hopelessness
State without hope
- dejectionState of lowness
- depressionProlonged low state
- melancholySubdued, lasting sadness
bleakness · gloom · darkness · numbness · despondency · forlornness · rock bottom · abyss · spiral · collapse
healing
Restoration of health
- mendingRestoring damaged items
- copingManaging under strain
- acceptanceConsent to receive
resilience · therapy · self-care · time heals · rebuild · renewal · growth · strength · closure · moving forward
- experiencesadventure, journey, moment, event, feeling
- bad feelingssadness, anger, fear, grief, sorrow
- griefgrief, mourning, bereavement, sorrow, grieving
- romancelove story, amor, love, boyfriend, courting
- breakbreakaway, breakdown, breakout, breakthrough, breakup
- coming-of-agecoming-of-age, bildungsroman, growing up, maturation, youth
heartbreaklove
Intense fond attachment
true love · happily ever after · union · reunion · falling in love
- first heartbreakLove's earliest wound
- Heartbreak HotelFamous song about romantic anguish
- heartbreak songTune about romantic loss