Feeling completely defeated, disappointed, or emotionally overwhelmed by circumstances or rejection.
From Old French 'croissir' meaning 'to break or bruise,' ultimately from Germanic roots. The metaphorical use of physical crushing to describe emotional states emerged in English by the 14th century, reflecting the sensation of being pressed down by overwhelming feelings.
The word beautifully captures how emotional pain can feel like actual physical weight or pressure on the chest and shoulders. 'Crushed' is unique among emotion words because it maintains both its literal and figurative meanings equally in modern usage - you can crush grapes or crush someone's dreams with equal linguistic validity.
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