rend

American  

[rend] / rɛnd /

verb (used with object)

rends, present (3rd person singular) rent, past participle, past rending present participle

1. to separate into parts with force or violence.

   The storm rent the ship to pieces.

2. to tear apart, split, or divide.

   racial tension that is rending the nation.

   Synonyms:

   rupture, fracture, chop, cleave, sever, sunder, rive

3. to pull or tear violently (often followed by away, off, up, etc.).

4. to tear (one's garments or hair) in grief, rage, etc.

5. to disturb (the air) sharply with loud noise.

6. to harrow or distress (the heart) with painful feelings.

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verb (used without object)

rends, present (3rd person singular) rent, past participle, past rending present participle

1. to split or tear something.

2. to become torn or split.

rend British  

/ rɛnd /

verb

1. to tear with violent force or to be torn in this way; rip

2. (tr) to tear or pull (one's clothes, etc), esp as a manifestation of rage or grief

3. (tr) (of a noise or cry) to disturb (the air, silence, etc) with a shrill or piercing tone

4. (tr) to pain or distress (the heart, conscience, etc)

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Synonym Usage

See tear ².

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• rendible
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• rending
  present
• rent
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• rend
  simple
• rends
  simple
• have rent
  perfect
• has rent
  perfect
• am rending
  progressive
• are rending
  progressive
• is rending
  progressive
• have been rending
  perfect progressive
• has been rending
  perfect progressive

Past

• rent
  simple
• had rent
  perfect
• was rending
  progressive
• were rending
  progressive
• had been rending
  perfect progressive

Future

• will rend
  simple
• will have rent
  perfect
• will be rending
  progressive
• will have been rending
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of rend

First recorded before 950; Middle English renden, Old English rendan; cognate with Old Frisian renda

Explanation

The verb rend means to tear with force or violence, or into many pieces. Your parents won't be happy if your new kitten decides to rend their brand new curtains with her tiny claws. Tear, rip, and rend are all synonyms, but it's a question of degree. Of the three, rend implies the most violent separation. You can also use rend figuratively to express great emotional distress or to describe a sharp, piercing sound. If you're betrayed by a friend, it rends your heart right out of your chest.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rend rends rent rending

"If global debt resumes its rising rend going forward, the debt rollercoaster since the pandemic will look nothing more than a temporary deviation around its long-term rising trend."

From Reuters ● Sep. 13, 2023

And that remains its role now, as thousands of researchers join forces in a collective mission: to better know SARS-CoV-2 and to rend that virus’s complexities into a blueprint to plan its containment and control.

From Scientific American ● Mar. 10, 2021

James Burns, head of a volunteer parks advisory council, is keenly aware of the divisions that rend the city, having moved from the North to the South Side.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 19, 2019

“I claw at the air, but my hands strike nothing; they rend no doorways to that golden isle. Absence. Isolation. I keen.”

From New York Times ● Sep. 5, 2017

“Through here,” boomed Wednesday, and he led them through the only exit, formed to look like the gaping mouth of a huge monster, its sharp teeth ready to rend them all to slivers.

From "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman

Noted playwright Hudes pens a stunning debut novel that rends conventional notions of motherhood.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2025

We find her at a bleak roadside cemetery where her grief rends the air.

From BBC ● May 9, 2023

What’s left behind after a natural disaster so powerful that it rends the foundations of a society?

From Washington Times ● Feb. 10, 2023

As a result, Alisa makes a terrible choice that rends the family forever.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 1, 2022

Jeremiah is the prophet of a dying nation; the agony of Judah's prolonged death struggle is reproduced with ten-fold intensity in the inward conflict which rends the heart of the prophet.

From The Prophet Ezekiel An Analytical Exposition by Gaebelein, Arno C.

Whether buying a chilled coconut at the beach or paying rent, Brazil's free PIX system has become the dominant way of making payments in Latin America's largest economy, with just a smartphone.

From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026

Hackman Capital’s plan to recoup its investment included continuing to operate Television City as a studio for rent while adding new revenue-generating features.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026

Zakharchenko and her family are packing up their belongings as they look for another place to rent.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

Considering that it can be easy to spend well over $100 on a single dress, and over $200 to rent a suit, this is a great way to lower our costs.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026

“I don’t think he wanted to leave. I’d paid the rent through February.”

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

And so a proper rending of garments was had.

From Slate ● Sep. 25, 2024

In that trio of songs, Spyres the Bel Canto star was most in his element: his tenor both riveting and rending, his high notes both tossed off and made to bloom with long crescendos.

From New York Times ● Sep. 8, 2022

It was not Mount St. Helens that blew, but a gash that appeared in the earth, rending the real world and allowing that monster-y dimension, the Upside Down, more entry.

From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2022

At least, I think that horrid screaming, silent sobbing and rending of garments indicates confusion.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 24, 2022

But there was a rending, tearing noise of work going on inside.

From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien

Related Words

• rive