heart-wrenching
/ˈhɑːt rentʃɪŋ/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈhɑːrt rentʃɪŋ/ (ame, ipa)
heart-wrenching — adjective
1. describes a story, image, or moment that fills you with deep sadness or pity, of
describes a story, image, or moment that fills you with deep sadness or pity, often making it painful to watch, read, or hear about — for example, news footage of a family separated by war, or a goodbye scene at a hospital.
Aoi watched the heart-wrenching news report about the orphaned puppies in silence.
attributive: heart-wrenching + [news / story / footage]
It was heart-wrenching to see Amira say goodbye to her grandmother at the train station.
predicative pattern: 'it was heart-wrenching to + infinitive'
The documentary about the earthquake survivors was the most heart-wrenching film Christopher had ever watched.
Joaquín wrote a heart-wrenching letter to his father describing the loss of their family farm.
The choir's final song was so heart-wrenching that several people in the audience began to cry.
- heartbreaking
near-synonym; slightly more common in everyday speech
- harrowing
stronger; suggests prolonged distress, often of traumatic events
- poignant
milder and more literary; emphasises tender sadness rather than acute pain
- moving
broader; can be sad OR uplifting, while heart-wrenching is only sad
- heartwarming
opposite emotional charge — causes warm, happy feelings instead of pain
- uplifting
raises spirits rather than causing sadness
用法筆記
Almost always describes things that depict suffering (stories, films, photos, scenes, accounts), not the suffering itself. You can talk about a heart-wrenching photo of a refugee but not a heart-wrenching wound. Common in both attributive ('a heart-wrenching scene') and predicative ('it was heart-wrenching to watch') positions.