rend
Americanverb (used with object)
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to separate into parts with force or violence.
The storm rent the ship to pieces.
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to tear apart, split, or divide.
racial tension that is rending the nation.
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to pull or tear violently (often followed by away, off, up, etc.).
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to tear (one's garments or hair) in grief, rage, etc.
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to disturb (the air) sharply with loud noise.
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to harrow or distress (the heart) with painful feelings.
verb (used without object)
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to split or tear something.
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to become torn or split.
verb
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to tear with violent force or to be torn in this way; rip
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(tr) to tear or pull (one's clothes, etc), esp as a manifestation of rage or grief
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(tr) (of a noise or cry) to disturb (the air, silence, etc) with a shrill or piercing tone
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(tr) to pain or distress (the heart, conscience, etc)
Related Words
See tear 2.
Other Word Forms
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.
Vocabulary lists containing rend
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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.
They focused on the Hungarian nationalist group Vitézi Rend, whose medal Gorka wore on a military tunic to Trump’s inaugural events.
From Salon • Apr. 22, 2026
Christian worship group Rend Collective was not always the well-known band it is today.
From BBC • Sep. 12, 2025
Rend your garments and lament with loud groans.
From Washington Post • Aug. 2, 2019
It also doesn’t hurt that Southeastern Illinois College, John A. Logan College and Rend Lake College all have nursing programs that could funnel students to SIU to further their education.
From Washington Times • Mar. 5, 2019
"On each plain, Rend the chain, And set the captive free!"
From The Liberty Minstrel by Clark, George W.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
