rend

[ rend ]

/ rɛnd /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: rend / rending / rent on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), rent, rend·ing.

to separate into parts with force or violence: The storm rent the ship to pieces.

to tear apart, split, or divide: racial tension that is rending the nation.

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

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

to disturb (the air) sharply with loud noise.

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

verb (used without object), rent, rend·ing.

to split or tear something.

to become torn or split.

OTHER WORDS FOR rend

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

See synonyms for rend on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON "IS" VS. "ARE"

"Is" it time for a new quiz? "Are" you ready? Then prove your excellent skills on using "is" vs. "are."

Question 1 of 7

IS and ARE are both forms of which verb?

have

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of rend

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

synonym study for rend

1. See tear².

OTHER WORDS FROM rend

rend·i·ble, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use rend in a sentence

But the slave had his moments alone, when the agony tore at his breast and rended him.
The Strength of Gideon and Other Stories|Paul Laurence Dunbar
None but a fiendish slaveholder could have rended an honest Christian heart in such a manner as this.
The Story of Mattie J. Jackson|L. S. Thompson
And then the timber crashed against the flimsy door; the rended boards flew across the room; the sod walls trembled to the shock.
When the West Was Young|Frederick R. Bechdolt
No lightning flash ever rended forest king from crest to root quicker than the transformation which now overspread the earth.
Caxton's Book: A Collection of Essays, Poems, Tales, and Sketches.|W. H. Rhodes

If they could have caught him they would have rended him limb from limb, so violent was their rage.
The Story of John Paul Jones|Chelsea Curtis Fraser

British Dictionary definitions for rend

rend

/ (rɛnd) /

verb rends, rending or rent

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

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

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

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

Derived forms of rend

rendible, adjective

Word Origin for rend

Old English rendan; related to Old Frisian renda

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

rend

OTHER WORDS FOR rend

Origin of rend

synonym study for rend

OTHER WORDS FROM rend

Words related to rend

How to use rend in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for rend

Derived forms of rend

Word Origin for rend