heartrendingly
- adverb
- /ˈhɑrtˌrɛndɪŋli/
- Mitchell, over the years you have brought countless thoroughly rousing or heartrendingly beautiful musical compositions to my attention, like Stoyan Yankoulov's "Water" and (the most recent) Lindsey Stirling's "Shadows."
Examples
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His expression was as heartrendingly somber as the dark suit he wore.
Fiction book (1992) -
"My darling!" Kipple cried joyously to Wolf Boy, then heartrendingly, "No! Wait!"
Fiction book (2002) -
The heartrendingly sad news about the loss of the beloved teacher spread through the school.
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As she read the heartrendingly emotional letter from her friend, tears welled up in her eyes.
-
The documentary depicted heartrendingly challenging stories of families affected by the disaster.
Synonyms
In a way that causes physical or emotional pain
In a way that causes great sadness or very bad results
In a way that shows deep pain or longing
In a way that causes very strong physical pain or deep worry
Makes people feel deep sadness or pity
In a sad, soft way that sounds like crying
In a way that makes people feel very sad
In a way that makes you feel sad or moved
In a sad way that shows a person is sorry
In a way that feels very painful or shocking
In a way that makes people feel great shock or deep sadness
In a way that causes strong emotional pain
In a way that causes great fear or pain
In a way that makes people feel very sad and cry
In a sad and thoughtful way
Antonyms
How Moving
Surface Forms
Morphology
heartrendingly = heartrending (transparent) = heart + rend + ing + ly
The adverb is formed by the regular suffix '-ly' from the adjective 'heartrending'; this is a standard and transparent derivation for learners.
Etymology
Heartrendingly comes from heart ('heart') and rending, which means 'tearing', with the ending -ly to show how something happens, so it pictures something that 'tears the heart' and therefore means 'in a way that causes deep sadness'.