Causing a burning sensation of jealousy, resentment, or deep emotional pain; a form of distress that feels hot and intense.
Combines 'heart' (Old English 'heorte') with 'burning' (Old English 'beornan,' to burn). Used poetically to describe intense, consuming emotions that feel like internal fire.
The physical sensation of heartburn (the acid reflux condition) gets confused with emotional heartburning—but they're unrelated phenomena, yet we use the same word because emotional and physical pain activate similar brain regions.
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