rift
Americannoun
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an opening made by splitting, cleaving, etc.; fissure; cleft; chink.
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an open space, as in a forest or cloud mass, or a clear interval.
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a break in friendly relations.
a rift between two people; a rift between two nations.
- Synonyms:
- falling-out, estrangement, rupture, breach
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a difference in opinion, belief, or interest that causes such a break in friendly relations.
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Geology.
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a fault.
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a graben of regional extent.
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the plane or direction along which a log or mass of granite can most easily be split.
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wood or a piece of wood that has been split radially from a log.
verb (used with or without object)
noun
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a gap or space made by cleaving or splitting; fissure
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geology a long narrow zone of faulting resulting from tensional stress in the earth's crust
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a gap between two cloud masses; break or chink
he saw the sun through a rift in the clouds
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a break in friendly relations between people, nations, etc
verb
noun
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a shallow or rocky part in a stream
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the backwash from a wave that has just broken
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A continental rift.
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A narrow break, crack, or other opening in a rock, usually made by cracking or splitting.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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riftsimple
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riftssimple
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have riftedperfect
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has riftedperfect
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am riftingprogressive
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are riftingprogressive
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is riftingprogressive
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have been riftingperfect progressive
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has been riftingperfect progressive
Past
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riftedsimple
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had riftedperfect
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was riftingprogressive
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were riftingprogressive
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had been riftingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of rift
1250–1300; Middle English < Old Norse ript breaking of an agreement (compare Danish, Norwegian rift cleavage), derivative of rīfa to tear (cognate with rive )
Explanation
Rift sounds like rip, and it's helpful to think of it that way. When there is a rift in a political party over a particular policy, it is like a rip or tear in the fabric of the group. Rift has a slightly different sense than break. A group can have a rift without having fully broken apart. A rift can heal, though a break is permanent. A rift can arise between sisters over whose turn it is to do dishes; it can quickly heal when parents promise an ice cream trip when the dishes are done. The Earth's crust has rifts, where it's splitting apart, like in East Africa.
Vocabulary lists containing rift
Geological Features
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Africa - Introductory
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Unit 1: Telling Details
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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.
Although Pope Benedict XVI repealed the excommunication in 2009 in an unsuccessful attempt to heal the rift, Pope Leo is also expected to exclude the new bishops from the Catholic Church.
From BBC • Jul. 1, 2026
Decades after triggering a rift with the Vatican by consecrating bishops in 1988, the Society of Saint Pius X is doing it again on Wednesday in defiance of Pope Leo XIV.
From Barron's • Jul. 1, 2026
The U.S. threats, which haven’t been previously reported, marked the biggest rift in years in a relationship that has underpinned security arrangements in the Gulf for decades.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 1, 2026
"I don't accept the idea that somehow there's some deep rift," he said, adding that Rubio's meetings in Italy could allow the two sides to "talk through" any differences.
From BBC • May 5, 2026
A huge rift opened up, the ocean rushing in with a roar that drowned the seabirds’ cries.
From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld
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.
