120 Broken Friendship Quotes To Express Loss
Friendship is one of life’s most cherished gifts. However, relationships are complex and sometimes even the closest of friends drift apart. While parting is never easy, quotes can help provide solace during these difficult times of loss. This article aims to do just that by offering 120 thoughtful words on friendship breakdown from various authors.
The collection of quotes is divided into several themed sections to help the reader process their feelings. Whether seeking philosophical perspective on impermanence, or poems expressing the pain of separation, these curated sayings hope to resonate and bring comfort. No relationship lasts forever and friendships evolve over time in ways beyond our control. Yet the memories and lessons of those we’ve shared life with stay with us always.
This article hopes to acknowledge the natural cycle of friendship through the wisdom of others. In browsing its selection of insightful quotes, my hope is that anyone grappling with a broken bond finds catharsis in knowing they aren’t alone, and gain fresh insight into both the joy and heartache relationships can bring. Sometimes only another’s words can capture what we feel inside.
1. Deep Thoughts on Friendships that Ended
“The friendship that can cease has never been real.” – Saint Jerome
“When you realize you cannot make people care about you, you learn that their approval is not about your worth.” – Jay Shetty
“A broken friendship can be harder to mend than a broken bone. The flesh will heal but the spiritual scar continues to ache.” – Matshona Dhliwayo
“Friendship often ends in love; but love in friendship – never.” – Charles Caleb Colton
“When friends part ways, it’s like walking in the rain when someone has torn down half an umbrella.” – Matshona Dhliwayo
“Friendships that end hurt. But it also helps you understand who you are and what you want out of other people.”
“If you shed tears when you miss someone, it means that relationship was worth crying over.” – Matshona Dhliwayo
“There will always be people who mean a lot to you but you’re not the priority in their life. It’s not their fault, nor is it yours, it just is what it is.” – Nish Weiseth
“When friendship dies, don’t autopsy.” – Saying
“It’s not only the loss of a friend that hurts, it’s the friendship that could have been.” – Saying
“The beauty of leaving behind what was once so beautiful is accepting that things change.” – Nish Weiseth
“Friendships often dissolve over minimal differences, like raindrops down a window, if you don’t wipe clean the pane of your mind.” – Matshona Dhliwayo
“The best way to heal a broken friendship is not to autopsy what went wrong, but to celebrate what was right.” – Saying
“When someone lets you down, don’t let it harden your heart, but soften it – there are lessons in losses.” – Saying
“It’s usually better to leave a broken friendship intact; some scars are never meant to heal only to teach us what we deserve.” – Saying
“Don’t dwell on goodbyes, focus on milestones you shared before the end and be grateful you had someone so special in your life.” – Saying
“Sometimes losing a friend is a wake-up call to create healthier boundaries with people and to value your self-worth more than their approval” – Saying
“In ending a friendship, know that life alone isn’t punishment, nor friendship a reward – it’s an opportunity to grow wiser.” – Matshona Dhliwayo
“Sometimes the soul needs distances from people to grow. Don’t try to force more intimacy than is natural, in a friendship or any relationship – you’ll compromise your integrity.” – Saying
“Rare as is true love, true friendship is rarer.” – Jean de La Fontaine
2. Reflecting on Friends Who Are No Longer There
“Sometimes the people you least expect will teach you the biggest lessons.” – Unknown
“Friends come and go, but true friends unexpectedly become parts of you that you can’t do without.” – Unknown
“Nothing can ever separate us from the love of friends. Not time, not distance, not even death can conquer the bond that links true friends.” -Richard Bach
“The true measure of friendship isn’t how it feels in moments of joy and comfort but rather how it feels in times of trouble and discomfort.”- Max Lucado
“Nothing stays the same, not even people, so enjoy every moment you have with your friends before it’s too late.”- Anonymous
“Memories won’t make-up for lost friends; so appreciate every day with those you care about.” – Unknown
“The loneliest moments in someone’s life are not when they are alone, but rather when they are surrounded by people who don’t cherish them.” – Unknown
“Friends may come and go, but true friends leave footprints on your heart.” – Unknown
“Don’t walk behind me, I may not lead. Don’t walk in front of me, I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.” – Albert Camus
“It takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, and a lifetime to forget them.” – Unknown
“True friends don’t always see each other, but they’re always together in spirit.” – Unknown
“True friendship is like sound health; the value of it is seldom known until it is lost.” – Charles Caleb Colton
“I’d rather have a broken friendship than a fake one.” – Unknown
“Better to have lost a friend and loved than to have gained a friend and hated.” – Unknown
“We never realize how much we miss until we lose them.” – Unknown
“Distance means so little when someone means so much.” – Tom McRae
“A good friend is a connection to life – a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world.” – Lois Wyse
“I miss you every day a little more than the day before.” – Unknown
“There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is having your friend back.” – Lin-Manuel Miranda
“The only real regret is losing people that matter to us.” – Unknown
3. Poignant Quotes on the Pain of Losing a Close Friend
“There’s nobody who can make you feel as secure as an old friend.” – Unknown
“When a friend leaves, a part of you goes with them. What’s left behind is the space where they were.” – Unknown
“There’s an emptiness when a friend goes that no amount of time can fill. What you had becomes a memory. What you lost remains an emptiness that nothing else seems to replace.” – Unknown
“The greatest gift of life is friendship, and I have received it.” – Hubert H. Humphrey
“Losing a friend is like losing your eyesight – you see less clearly now, moving forward more slowly, and everything seems less colorful.” – Anonymous
“Part of friendship is learning how to say goodbye.” – Mehmet Murat ildan
“Silent grief can do more harm than being silent. Letting it out is the healthiest way to grieve.” – Meghann Caswell
“Nothing prepares you for the agony of losing someone you love deeply.” – Lewis B. Smedes
“Losing friends and loved ones along the way breaks our hearts, but it doesn’t mean we still can’t live fully and love unconditionally.” – Shannon L. Alder
“The loss of love, the agony of parting, the terror of loneliness–these are my university.” – Carol Shields
“Any deep friendship requires a certain parallel in one’s life, a friendship rests on some community of thought.” – Eric Hoffer
“Those we love never truly leave us. There are things that death cannot touch.” – Unknown
“When you realize someone is gone forever, I hope that gives you strength, comfort and courage to cherish those who remain.” – Bob Saget
“We never know the love of a parent till we become parents ourselves.” – Henry Ward Beecher
“The greatest griefs are those we cause ourselves.” – George Eliot
“Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.” – Mark Twain
“Of all the rights of women the greatest is to be a mother.” – Lin Yutang
“Losing someone you love is like living through war, and still standing.” – Unknown
“A heart to care, a shoulder to lean on, and love to carry each other through.” – Unknown
“There are no goodbyes for us. Wherever you are, you will always be in my heart.” – Mahatma Gandhi
4. Moving Forward After the Loss of a Companion
“Grieve not, nor speak of me with tears, but laugh and talk of me as if I were beside you.” – Icelandisch Proverb
“Moving forward doesn’t mean forgetting what was left behind.” – Anonymous
“The best way to heal is to allow yourself to grieve and feel the pain of the loss.” – Unknown
“Friends come and go, but a true friend knows when to let go.” – Unknown
“Time heals what reason cannot.” – Seneca
“Don’t lose hope. When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” – Alexander Graham Bell
“To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.” – Unknown
“Focus on healing and staying strong while being gentle with yourself.” – Unknown
“Grief does not change you, Hazel. It reveals you.” – John Green, The Fault in Our Stars
“Time won’t take away the memory of their smile, but it will soften the ache in your heart caused by their absence.” – Unknown
“Releasing what was once familiar is not an act of defeat or surrender; rather, it is an act of courage that allows us to move forward in our lives and relationships.” – Virginia Satir
“No matter how bad it seems today, better things are bound to come your way. Just keep on looking up — the tears you cry will dry.” – Unknown
“The pain now is part of the happiness then.” – Sarah Dessen
“Don’t dwell in the past, don’t dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” – Buddha
“Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace.” – Viktor E. Frankl
“The memory fades with time, and smiling becomes easier. That’s the healing of time.” – Shannon L. Alder
“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.” – Helen Keller
“The expression ‘time heals all wounds’ comforts many. But the truth is that time doesn’t heal the wounds, we heal them by living through the time.” – Mary Anne Radmacher
“After great pain, a formal feeling comes.” ― Emily Dickinson
“Grief is the price we pay for love.” – Queen Elizabeth II
5. Somber Sayings About Friendships Left Behind
“Sometimes two people grow apart even though they loved each other very much once upon a time.” – Unknown
“Some friendships end the way they began – slowly, then all at once.” – Unknown
“The broken fragments of what had once been whole refuse to join together in the same way again.” – Unknown
“Memories of laughter shared and tears shed linger where the friendship used to be.” – Unknown
“There’s no pain more acute than the loss of a friend who remains still alive somewhere in the world.” – John Green
“When friendship dies, it is more painful than the death of relatives for relatives can be replaced but friendship cannot.” – John Farrar
“A broken friendship is like stepping on glass; the bare foot comes away bloody but the wound is where your heart once was.” – Unknown
“There are things you can’t share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a dorm room wall is one of those things.” – Lemony Snicket
“Friendships that have stood the test of time and travel often end because of some secret desire for change or self-preservation. Both sides want something new.” – Unknown
“Time and circumstance may pull us apart, but the bond of true friendship survives every storm.” – Unknown
“Hope is the only thing stronger than fear. A broken friendship is when hope runs out.” – Unknown
“Friendships that end were never meant to be, and friends that stay were always meant to stay.” – Chinese Proverb
“Broken friendships allow new people to enter your life.” – Unknown
“Sometimes losing a friend is a wake-up call to appreciate what you have while you still have it.” – Unknown
“The saddest thing about life is knowing that everything changes. We drift apart from our friends, grow apart from our families.” – Unknown
“When friendship’s bond is broken, its ends recoil upon the living heart, and deeply wound it.” – George Gordon Byron
“Friends come into our lives for a reason, a season or a lifetime.” – Unknown
“It’s amazing how quickly things can fall apart, isn’t it?” – Unknown
“No friendship is an accident. Friends are God’s way of apologizing to us.” – Unknown
“There ain’t no road too long for good company.” – Unknown
6. Wise Words on Friendships Now Gone
“The breaking of a friendship can become a habit as hard to break as any other.” – Edward Morgan Forster
“It’s sad when friendship dies but we can’t expect friends to stay the same any more than we stay the same ourselves.” – Loretta Young
“Friendships forgotten, memories depressed, lessons in trust that will never be expressed.” – Unknown
“The friendship that can cease has never been real.” – Saint Jerome
“A friend can tell you things you don’t want to tell yourself.” – Francois de La Rochefoucauld
“There’s no feeling in the world quite like finding someone you can pour your heart out to without fear of judgment.” – Unknown
“Friendship often ends in love; but love in friendship—never.” – Charles Caleb Colton
“It’s sad when somebody you’ve known forever suddenly becomes a stranger.” – Unknown
“The deeper the friendship the less need for frequent communication.” – Elbert Hubbard
“Friendships, like marriages, are made in heaven – but it helps matters if you look around a bit first.” – Erica Jong
“Friendship often ends in love; but love in friendship—never.” – Charles Caleb Colton
“A true friend never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down.” – Arnold H. Glasow
“Distance means so little when someone means so much.” – Tom McNeal
“A broken friendship will never provide lessons that strengthen character as much as a strong one.” – Unknown
“Friendships are the first casualty of success.” – Unknown
“The broken bond of friendship is harder to mend than a severed limb.” – Ashleigh Brilliant
“Friends are like melons—shall I tell you why? To find one good you must a hundred try.” – Mary Whateley
“Not every broken friendship needs mending; some serve as valuable lessons in discernment.” – Unknown
“No friendship is an accident, for we receive only what we see in people.” – Alan Bloom
“You never know anyone until you break with them.” – Leo Tolstoy
Conclusion
Friendship is one of life’s most precious gifts. However, relationships can also be fragile and sometimes end unexpectedly. The quotes shared in this article poignantly capture the complex emotions surrounding lost friendship – sadness, regret, betrayal and longing for what used to be. Reflecting on these words allows us to acknowledge our feelings during such difficult transitions. While time heals most wounds, honoring what we had can provide closure and hope. As we move forward in life, we would do well to cherish each connection, communicate openly and extend compassion even in disagreement. Our relationships shape who we become – may we continue learning from both their blessings and losses.
