rive

[rahyv]

verb (used with object)

rived, rived, riven, riving. 

1. to tear or rend apart.

   to rive meat from a bone.

2. to separate by striking; split; cleave.

3. to rend, harrow, or distress (the feelings, heart, etc.).

4. to split (wood) radially from a log.

verb (used without object)

rived, rived, riven, riving. 

1. to become rent or split apart.

   stones that rive easily.

rive

/ raɪv /

verb

1. to split asunder

   a tree riven by lightning

2. to tear apart

   riven to shreds

3. archaic,  to break (the heart) or (of the heart) to be broken

Other Word Forms

• unrived adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of rive¹

1225–75; Middle English riven < Old Norse rīfa to tear, split. See rift

Word History and Origins

Origin of rive¹

C13: from Old Norse rīfa ; related to Old Frisian rīva

Example Sentences

Now he is banned from standing, his PPA-CI is riven with divisions and his ex-wife is running for president for a rival party.

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For a variety of reasons, though, these companies have a mixed record, since the business of mental health is a complex, riven ecosystem intertwined with insurers and regulations.

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Achieving this in a cultural environment as riven as ours would seem to be more difficult, yet none of the humor feels strained.

Read more on Salon

Years after being found dead in a Manhattan prison cell — killed by his own hand, according to authorities — Epstein appears to have done the near-impossible in this deeply riven nation.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Students often self-segregated, and the school’s academic sheen was riven by racial division.

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Related Words

• disintegrate 
• divide 
• fracture 
• rend 
• shatter 
• splinter