Causing deep sadness or anguish; so emotionally painful that it feels like your heart is being torn apart.
From 'heart' plus 'rending' (from Old English 'rendan,' meaning to tear or rip). The image combines the heart as the seat of emotions with the violent action of tearing to express intense emotional pain.
This word is a perfect example of how English uses violent, physical metaphors to describe emotional pain—we say our hearts are 'broken,' 'shattered,' 'torn,' and 'rendered' when we're sad, because emotional and physical pain activate similar brain regions.
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