Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“There are toxic cleavages and an incipient social fragmentation that can easily turn into instability.”

From BBC • Jun. 19, 2024

Pop music has always gone hand in hand with strong opinions and heated debates — including the kinds of generational cleavages that inspire finger-wagging lectures.

From New York Times • Apr. 22, 2021

More recently, cleavages stemming from class, race, religion, gender, and ethnicity, split the country into antagonistic factions.

From Salon • Dec. 28, 2020

Either formulation is a polite way of saying that political cleavages are not so much “I disagree with your views” as “I hate your stupid face.”

From Washington Post • Aug. 30, 2018

The straight sloping lines are cleavages, across the beds.

From Modern Painters, Volume IV (of V) by Ruskin, John