3
painful(adjective, awful, gloomy, miserable, grim)
3
woeful(adjective, miserable, wretched, anguished)
2
affecting(adjective, moving, tender, stirring, distressing)
2
bitter
2
doleful(adjective, sad, awful, miserable, grim)
2
emotive(adjective, moving, tender, stirring)
2
excruciating
2
harrowing(adjective, sad, awful, miserable, grim)
2
heartwrenching
2
mournful(adjective, sad, awful, miserable, grim)
2
plaintive(adjective, gloomy, miserable, wretched, anguished)
2
sorrowful(adjective, sad, awful, miserable, grim)
2
tear-jerking(adjective, moving, tender, pitiful, stirring)
2
tender(adjective, moving, stirring)
2
upsetting(adjective, awful, terrible, shocking, dreadful)
1
afflictive(miserable, wretched, distressing, upsetting, anguished)
1
anguished(sad, awful, miserable, grim, wretched)
1
appalling
1
calamitous(awful, terrible, miserable, wretched, dreadful)
1
deplorable(adjective, sad, awful, terrible, miserable)
13 years ago|2.5k views|share |citing 
APASmart Define. (2013). heart-rending thesaurus. Retrieved September 23, 2026, from https://smartdefine.org/heart-rending/thesaurus/synonyms
ChicagoSmart Define. 2013. "heart-rending thesaurus" https://smartdefine.org/heart-rending/thesaurus/synonyms (accessed September 23, 2026).
HarvardSmart Define 2013, heart-rending thesaurus, Smart Define, viewed 23 September, 2026, <https://smartdefine.org/heart-rending/thesaurus/synonyms>.
MLASmart Define. "heart-rending thesaurus" 17 June 2013. Web. 23 September 2026. <https://smartdefine.org/heart-rending/thesaurus/synonyms>