heartsick

adjective

heart·​sick ˈhärt-ˌsik How to pronounce heartsick (audio)
: very despondent : depressed
heartsickness noun

Examples of heartsick in a Sentence

They were absolutely heartsick over the loss of their home. I was heartsick to learn of their divorce.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Brolin plays a particularly heartsick parent coming for Garner and demanding answers about his missing daughter. Matt Donnelly, Variety, 2 Apr. 2025 As the titular Buffy, Gellar ably led her gang of monster-slayers (and heartsick teenagers) through seven seasons. Randall Colburn, EW.com, 10 Mar. 2025 Culture Our Adored Cadavers Elizabeth Harper From the heartsick graverobbers of early Romantic literature to the latest gritty cable crime drama, the dead woman is never simply mourned and forgotten, but fully objectified and consumed. hazlitt.net, 4 Jan. 2025 But viewers, particularly younger female ones, relished their bond — and were heartsick when the stars ended their real-life romance in 2007 after two years. Ryan Gajewski, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Feb. 2024 The lead singer and songwriter Paul Westerberg was a punk-rock Jackson Browne, a pugilistic but ultimately heartsick poet with matinee-idol looks. Elizabeth Nelson, The New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2023 Of equal importance, these heartsick lyrics were swathed in an atmospheric soundscape unlike any music Dylan had made before. David Weininger, BostonGlobe.com, 25 Jan. 2023 The 49ers were heartsick about their young teammate’s injury. Ann Killion, San Francisco Chronicle, 18 Sep. 2022 So, as Americans watched January 6, most of them were heartsick. CBS News, 24 July 2022

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1529, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of heartsick was circa 1529

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Cite this Entry

“Heartsick.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heartsick. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.

Kids Definition

heartsick

adjective
heart·​sick -ˌsik How to pronounce heartsick (audio)
: very sad and discouraged : depressed
heartsickness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on heartsick

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