rive
Americanverb (used with object)
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to tear or rend apart.
to rive meat from a bone.
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to separate by striking; split; cleave.
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to rend, harrow, or distress (the feelings, heart, etc.).
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to split (wood) radially from a log.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to split asunder
a tree riven by lightning
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to tear apart
riven to shreds
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archaic to break (the heart) or (of the heart) to be broken
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of rive
1225–75; Middle English riven < Old Norse rīfa to tear, split. See rift
Vocabulary lists containing rive
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.
See Examples For:
Though she did not hang out with the bohemians and intellectuals of the rive gauche, there was nevertheless something about her persona that chimed with the romantic existentialism of the time.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 29, 2018
You never put your foot in the same rive twice.
From New York Times ● Nov. 28, 2017
“Per le spiagge, per le rive di Trieste,” he began, singing the opening lines of “The Bells of Saint Giusto,” a patriotic World War I paean to Italy’s victory against—and Trieste’s independence from—Austria-Hungary.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 3, 2015
Theoretically, a Caltech student may ar rive at all the wrong answers on exams, and still get passing marks if his professor believes that his thinking is sound.
From Time Magazine Archive
The chin and mouth spoke of iron will, of strength to rive the solid rock and overthrow a tower, of a purpose relentlessly pursued.
From World's End A Story in Three Books by Richard Jefferies
But a story rived by cover-ups and uncertainty is only further muddled by meditations on the uncertain nature of storytelling.
From New York Times ● Sep. 1, 2020
The episodic narrative tracks Gloria over a period rived by minor as well as life-altering change.
From New York Times ● Mar. 7, 2019
Its deep view of a rived terrain in browns and shadowy blacks is relieved by an interval of sun-dappled clouds and scattered rain showers, culminating in a band of leaden sky.
From New York Times ● Jun. 6, 2018
The battle that Gil cannot leave behind is the war that rived his nation.
From Washington Post ● May 11, 2018
He felt the bound, followed by a terrific up-fling of the tail, and then a thousand stars went shooting before his eyes and it seemed that a lightning bolt rived his brain.
From Aces Up by Covington Clarke
A former ambassador to Washington and independent politician, 76-year-old Karam is known for his defence of Lebanese unity in a country riven by sectarian divisions.
From Barron's ● May 15, 2026
Long before Nancy's arrival, the club was riven with disharmony.
From BBC ● Dec. 11, 2025
Pope Leo XIV is encouraging Turkey to be a source of stability and dialogue in a world riven by conflict.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 2, 2025
Spending cuts are even more difficult than in Britain—where welfare cuts have proved to be a political nonstarter—and securing a budget at all in a deeply riven French Parliament is a challenge.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 30, 2025
Psalms sung by the priests of King David, who united the kingdoms of Israel and Judaea in 1003 bc, are riven through with references to instruments and to singing.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
However, the game turned on its head in dramatic fashion when Charteris was sent to the sin-bin for stopping a riving maul illegally.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2014
An unsuccessful mail plane was Martin's only non-military venture lately until this year when Pan American Airways submitted specifications for a huge riving boat of long cruising range for oceanic service.
From Time Magazine Archive
By the government's admission, the new budget is expected to produce a 7% drop in the standard of riving over the next year.
From Time Magazine Archive
Craig DuMez Brookfield, Wis. As an American riving in Brazil, I felt great pride as I listened to Mondale's concession speech.
From Time Magazine Archive
Starting in fall 1793, British troops began ar- riving in Saint Domingue to reenslave people and return them to their sugar plantations.
From "Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science" by Marc Aronson
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.
