Does a couple in your novel breakup? Let us help you write this incident. Read on to learn how to describe a broken heart in writing.
1. Heavy
Definition
- Hard to deal with emotionally because it has been caused or causes distress.
- Quite serious or important.
- Large number or amount.
Examples
“Her broken heart weighed so heavily on her that she could barely make herself move, much less feel.”
“The whole ordeal made his broken heart feel even heavier than before.”
How it Adds Description
When we get our heart broken, the sadness that comes after can feel like a burden. Using the word heavy to describe a broken heart really highlights the physical weight of sadness. The reader can imagine how difficult the character must find it to continue with daily life in spite of their broken heart.
2. Bleeding
Definition
- Feeling melancholy or stress.
- Sometimes used as an intensifier, similar to really or extremely.
Examples
“She could almost feel the sadness bleeding from her broken heart whenever their song came on the radio.”
“The grief bleeds from my broken heart every time I think of Jimmy and the car accident.”
How it Adds Description
Saying that a character’s broken heart bleeds shows the reader that the character cannot contain their sadness. Bleeding can also be used to show an extra intensity to the sadness, as if it runs through their veins and cannot be eliminated so easily.
3. Empty
Definition
Lacking substance, purpose, life or value.
Examples
“She wasn’t just broken hearted; she was completely empty.”
“It was hard to tell if his broken heart made him feel empty or if it was the lack of sleep and food.”
How it Adds Description
Sadness doesn’t always cause a lot of emotional outbursts. Sometimes a broken heart simply drains the energy from a person and leaves them emotionless. Describing that sadness as empty will help the reader feel physically how the broken heart has stolen the character’s zest for life.
4. Aching
Definition
Feeling of pain, either physical or emotional.
Examples
“She noticed that her broken heart ached less and less every time she saw him with his new wife.”
“I grabbed my chest at the ache he caused me, as if he had literally broken my heart with his words.”
How it Adds Description
Aching highlights for the reader how much the sadness is hurting the character. Like a real broken bone, a broken heart will hurt physically from the injury. However, aching also signals the healing process has begun so maybe an aching broken heart is slowly start to mend back together.
5. Bitterness
Definition
- Acting offensive or upsetting.
- Feeling an intense or severe reproach, sadness or hostility.
- Full of scorn and spite.
Examples
“There was no joy or happiness to be found inside him anymore; his broken heart left him feeling only bitterness and spite.”
“What was a broken heart if not bitterness replacing optimism?”
How it Adds Description
When someone breaks your trust and your heart, it makes you question everything new person or opportunity that comes after. By describing the character as bitter, you are highlighting the distrust they now feel because of their broken heart.
6. Endless
Definition
Feels like it will last forever.
Examples
“It felt like this broken heart was endless; with every song he heard, every smile he saw, his heart would break even more.”
“Was the agony of his broken heart as endless as time itself?”
How it Adds Description
Right after our hearts are broken, we feel like we’ll never find happiness again. Using endless to describe that feeling of hopelessness and despair that follows a broken heart shows the reader the character’s pessimistic state of mind in that moment.
7. Despondent
Definition
Full of misery, depression, or disappointment.
Examples
“She started at him despondently while her heart broke into tiny pieces.”
“I couldn’t help but notice the despondent look on her face; she wasn’t doing such a good job of hiding her broken heart as she thought.”
How it Adds Description
Despondent suggests that a person has succumbed to their sad situation, whether that be because they’ve lost all their money or their home or their family. By describing your character as despondent, you are showing that their broken heart is beyond repair, and they are affected by it in the deepest way.
8. Agonizing
Definition
Causing great pain; torturous; cruel.
Examples
“Every time I heard her voice, I could feel the agony of my broken heart all over again.”
“The intensity of my broken heart was agonizing; I felt like I couldn’t move for the pain.”
How it Adds Description
Sadness, especially sadness caused from a broken heart, can cause a person physical pain. If you use agony or agonizing to describe how the broken heart has physically affected the character, your reader can imagine the emotional pain they must be feeling, as well.
9. Forlorn
Definition
- Lonely or abandoned.
Examples
“When he broke her heart, she became the forlorn and anxious girl she is now.”
“Why would I look anything but forlorn? She broke my heart and left me to die!”
How it Adds Description
If you want to show how a broken heart is affecting the character, use forlorn to describe their sad, depressed demeanor as it suggests someone who just never looks happy, even when they try to smile. The reader can imagine just how painful the broken heart is and how much it hurts the character.
10. Unmendable
Definition
Unable to be fixed or repaired.
Examples
“She felt as if her broken heart was unmendable; nothing she could do lessened the pain.”
“There were certain actions that would cause an unmendable broken heart. He happened to do three of them last night.”
How it Adds Description
By describing a broken heart as unmendable, you are stressing to the reader that whatever has caused the broken heart is so bad that it cannot be undone. The reader can empathize with the character’s pain and distrust because they can also imagine a time when they felt their broken heart was never going to get better.