heartwrenching
adjective
heartwrenching is spelled H-E-A-R-T-W-R-E-N-C-H-I-N-G: 14 letters. It appears about once in every 19 million words in written English, the 133,440th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, heartwrenching means “Having a painful emotional impact; causing grief or distress” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in heartwrenching?
| Letters | 14: H-E-A-R-T-W-R-E-N-C-H-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 19 million words; the 133,440th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is heartwrenching?
Heartwrenching appears about once in every 19 million words in written English, the 133,440th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Forms of heartwrenching
- more heartwrenching comparative
- most heartwrenching superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does heartwrenching mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Having a painful emotional impact; causing grief or distress.
Near-synonyms: heartbreaking, heartrending
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Heartwrenching in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense having a painful emotional impact:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | herzzerreißend |
| Spanish | desgarrador, achará |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does heartwrenching come from?
From heart + wrenching.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).