fissure

[ fish-er ]

noun

1. a narrow opening produced by cleavage or separation of parts.
2. cleavage ( def 1 ).
3. Anatomy. a natural division or groove in an organ, as in the brain.

verb (used with object)

, fis·sured, fis·sur·ing.

1. to make fissures in; cleave; split.

verb (used without object)

, fis·sured, fis·sur·ing.

1. to open in fissures; become split.

fissure

/ ˈfɪʃə /

noun

1. any long narrow cleft or crack, esp in a rock
2. a weakness or flaw indicating impending disruption or discord

   fissures in a decaying empire

3. See sulcus
   anatomy a narrow split or groove that divides an organ such as the brain, lung, or liver into lobes See also sulcus
4. a small unnatural crack in the skin or mucous membrane, as between the toes or at the anus
5. a minute crack in the surface of a tooth, caused by imperfect joining of enamel during development

verb

1. to crack or split apart

fissure

/ fĭsh′ər /

1. A long, narrow crack or opening in the face of a rock. Fissures are often filled with minerals of a different type from those in the surrounding rock.

Other Words From

• fissu·ral adjective
• fissure·less adjective
• sub·fissure noun
• super·fissure noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of fissure¹

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin fissūra cleaving, cleft, fissure, equivalent to fiss ( us ) divided ( fissi- ) + -ūra -ure

Word History and Origins

Origin of fissure¹

C14: from medical Latin fissūra , from Latin fissus split

Example Sentences

What’s needed now is not punishment for insurrection, they say, but rather “healing” for a country rent by partisan fissures.

From Vox

Stories strengthen the bonds of community, or can widen the fissures between them.

From Washington Post

They were real, and they revealed real fissures in our relationship that we needed to look at, even if they weren’t going to bust up the foundation.

From Vox

The deep fissures in our society that run along the lines of race, gender and education deepened, and the great divide between those companies that are tech savvy and those that are not widened.

From Fortune

Getting those cards on the table helped all parties realize there was no way to turn back the clock and magically fix the underlying fissures.

From Washington Post

But both sides of this American fissure create a life lived less than fully.

From The Daily Beast

In fact, the communion conundrum highlights the first visible fissure in the church of Francis.

From The Daily Beast

Over the next eight years, the rupture would fissure across every state and territory in the Union.

From The Daily Beast

Once opened, this fissure between internal and external splits Hemon apart, giving him, effectively, double lives.

From The Daily Beast

The tryst causes a professional fissure between Jung and his psychiatrist mentor, Sigmund Freud, played by Viggo Mortensen.

From The Daily Beast

This prevents the lowest ring from settling while those above remain in position, which would cause an ugly fissure.

From Project Gutenberg

In the description of “The House of Usher,” position emphasizes the barely perceptible fissure.

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

In the time-eaten wall Clara had found a fissure through which she could watch the parley between Thurstane and the Apaches.

From Project Gutenberg

A little further along the wall was a fissure which was lower and broader than the one she had just quitted.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• cleavage
• crevice