rift

American  

[rift] / rɪft /

noun

1. an opening made by splitting, cleaving, etc.; fissure; cleft; chink.

2. an open space, as in a forest or cloud mass, or a clear interval.

3. a break in friendly relations.

   a rift between two people; a rift between two nations.

   Synonyms:

   falling-out, estrangement, rupture, breach

4. a difference in opinion, belief, or interest that causes such a break in friendly relations.

5. Geology.

   1. a fault.

   2. a graben of regional extent.

6. the plane or direction along which a log or mass of granite can most easily be split.

7. wood or a piece of wood that has been split radially from a log.

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verb (used with or without object)

rifts, present (3rd person singular) rifted, past participle, past rifting present participle

1. to burst open; split.

rift ¹ British  

/ rɪft /

noun

1. a gap or space made by cleaving or splitting; fissure

2. geology a long narrow zone of faulting resulting from tensional stress in the earth's crust

3. a gap between two cloud masses; break or chink

   he saw the sun through a rift in the clouds

4. a break in friendly relations between people, nations, etc

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verb

1. to burst or cause to burst open; split

rift ² British  

/ rɪft /

noun

1. a shallow or rocky part in a stream

2. the backwash from a wave that has just broken

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rift Scientific  

/ rĭft /

1. A continental rift.

2. A narrow break, crack, or other opening in a rock, usually made by cracking or splitting.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• riftless
  adjective
• unrifted
  adjective

Conjugated Forms

Present

• have rifted
  perfect
• has rifted
  perfect 3rd person singular
• is rifting
  progressive 3rd person singular
• am rifting
  progressive 1st person singular
• has been rifting
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• are rifting
  progressive
• rifting
  participle
• rifts
  singular 3rd person
• have been rifting
  perfect progressive

Past

• had rifted
  perfect
• rifted
  participle
• were rifting
  progressive plural
• was rifting
  progressive singular
• had been rifting
  perfect progressive
• rifted
  simple

Future

• will rift
  simple
• will have rifted
  perfect
• will have been rifting
  perfect progressive
• will be rifting
  progressive

Etymology

Origin of rift

1250–1300; Middle English < Old Norse ript breaking of an agreement (compare Danish, Norwegian rift cleavage), derivative of rīfa to tear (cognate with rive )

Explanation

Rift sounds like rip, and it's helpful to think of it that way. When there is a rift in a political party over a particular policy, it is like a rip or tear in the fabric of the group. Rift has a slightly different sense than break. A group can have a rift without having fully broken apart. A rift can heal, though a break is permanent. A rift can arise between sisters over whose turn it is to do dishes; it can quickly heal when parents promise an ice cream trip when the dishes are done. The Earth's crust has rifts, where it's splitting apart, like in East Africa.

Example Sentences

Appeared in the May 8, 2026, print edition as 'Trump and Brazil’s Lula Seek Reset, Easing Diplomatic Rift'.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026

Sawe, born in Kenya's Rift Valley, where his father worked as a maize farmer, declared it "a day to remember" after obliterating Kiptum's world record by 65 seconds.

From BBC • Apr. 27, 2026

The Turkana Rift has produced more than 1,200 hominin fossils from the past 4 million years, accounting for about one third of all such finds in Africa.

From Science Daily • Apr. 25, 2026

Mwangi was arrested on March 13 in the Rift Valley in possession of 1,000 live ants of an unspecified species and 113 Messor cephalotes ants hidden in syringes.

From Barron's • Mar. 17, 2026

The road descends into the Rift, cutting across wrinkled knees of bluffs, until it hits bottom and unravels on a savanna dotted with acacia trees.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston

Related Words

• breach
• clash
• disagreement
• division
• estrangement
• misunderstanding
• quarrel
• rupture
• schism
• split