rend

American  

[rend] / rɛnd /

verb (used with object)

rent, rending

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)

rent, rending

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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Related Words

See tear ².

Other Word Forms

• rendible adjective

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

"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

Une petite mosaïque placée aux abords d’une autoroute a été remplacée six fois par un fan qui aime la croiser chaque fois qu’il rend visite à ses parents.

From New York Times • Feb. 12, 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

The loss of insects and arthropods could further rend the rain forest’s food web, Lister warned, causing plant species to go extinct without pollinators.

From Washington Post • Oct. 15, 2018

Then the Black Captain rose in his stirrups and cried aloud in a dreadful voice, speaking in some forgotten tongue words of power and terror to rend both heart and stone.

From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien

Related Words

• rive