rift

[ rift ]

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: estrangement, falling-out, 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.

verb (used with or without object)

1. to burst open; split.

rift

¹

/ rɪft /

noun

1. a shallow or rocky part in a stream
2. the backwash from a wave that has just broken

rift

²

/ 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

verb

1. to burst or cause to burst open; split

rift

/ rĭft /

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

Other Words From

• riftless adjective
• un·rifted adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of rift¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of rift¹

C14: from Old Norse rypta ; related to Icelandic ropa to belch

Origin of rift²

C13: from Old Norse; related to Danish rift cleft, Icelandic ript breach of contract

Example Sentences

Material from the upper mantle then seeps up through the rift between the plates to fill in the seafloor.

From Science News

Even the simplest decisions led him into deep philosophical rifts.

From ProPublica

Then, after a rift with owner Art Modell drove him from Cleveland, Brown led the Cincinnati Bengals to playoff appearances in three of their first six years as an NFL franchise.

From Washington Post

This worldwide rift system snakes for over 72,000 kilometers around the globe, cutting through the centers of the world’s oceans.

From Science News

The correlation lent weight to the idea that the rift was where the crust was pulling apart, and gave Tharp a way to accurately locate the rift between the ship tracks.

From Science News

Her mother made demands about a big ceremony and caused a rift between them.

From The Daily Beast

The rift put Washington at odds with countries like Brazil, Uruguay or Chile, which seemed to have come to terms with their past.

From The Daily Beast

Hagel sought to downplay any rift in a statement to Defense Department employees.

From The Daily Beast

But the rift was, not least, a matter of personalities and egos.

From The Daily Beast

The Oculus Rift essentially tricks your brain into believing what it sees is real.

From The Daily Beast

There was a narrow rift here between the titan cliffs of darkness and he—the ship he was in—was fleeing across that rift.

From Project Gutenberg

The older group commenced with a series of fissure eruptions along the site of the present rift-valley and parallel with it.

From Project Gutenberg

This great volcanic period was followed by the eruptions of Kibo and some of the larger volcanoes of the rift-valley.

From Project Gutenberg

The great rift in the volcano widened, and the molten lava was visible until steam rose again.

From Project Gutenberg

As far as the eye can reach is a sea of green tree-tops, with occasionally a deep rift where there is a chasm.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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