brokenhearted

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

Also spelled broken-hearted

US /ˌbroʊkənˈhɑrtɪd/ UK /ˌbrəʊkənˈhɑːtɪd/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
overwhelmed by grief or disappointment, especially in love

She was brokenhearted when he left without a word.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · overwhelmed by grief or... heartbroken disconsolategrief-strickendesolate crestfallen despondent

Opposites

joyful elated content jubilant

Word family

Related forms broken heart heartbroken

Etymology

A compound of broken (past participle of break) + hearted (from heart, Old English heorte), describing a heart figuratively shattered by grief.

heorte Old English brecan Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# brokenhearted

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˌbroʊkənˈhɑrtɪd/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌbrəʊkənˈhɑːtɪd/

## Meanings
1. overwhelmed by grief or disappointment, especially in love

## Examples
- She was brokenhearted when he left without a word.

## Synonyms
- heartbroken
- disconsolate
- grief-stricken
- desolate
- crestfallen
- despondent

## Antonyms
- joyful
- elated
- content
- jubilant

## Related Forms
- broken
- heart
- heartbroken

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: heorte
- Root: brecan

## Etymology
A compound of broken (past participle of break) + hearted (from heart, Old English heorte), describing a heart figuratively shattered by grief.

## AI Etymology
Brokenhearted is a compound of broken (past participle of break) + hearted (from heart, Old English heorte), describing a heart figuratively shattered by grief. The historical trail runs through heorte in Old English and brecan in Old English. Morphologically, brokenhearted is transparent: it is a compound of broken (past participle of break) + hearted (from heart, Old English heorte), describing a heart figuratively shattered by grief. Used as an adjective, brokenhearted now means "overwhelmed by grief or disappointment, especially in love", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in related forms such as broken, heart, and heartbroken. The modern word remains analyzable through its parts, which makes the semantic connection unusually direct.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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