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

Example Sentences

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

From Los Angeles Times

The rending of hair and gnashing of teeth has begun.

From Salon

"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

Snook does everything but rend her garments in a performance that only emphasizes the busy vapidity of Hannah Kent’s script.

From New York Times

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

From BBC

Related Words

• rive