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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

heartache.

Emotional distress or pain, often caused by a loved one or their absence.

9 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈhɑːteɪk/UK
  1. Emotional distress or pain, often caused by a loved one or their absence.

    countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

From Middle English heorteece, heorte-ece, from Old English heorteċe, equivalent to heart + ache. Blends both literal and figurative aspects, as emotional distress sometimes includes a physical element of chest discomfort. Compare heartbreak § Etymology, where the literal aspect is lesser, though it still can be said to have a physiological basis.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.