rive

[rahyv]

verb (used with object)

rived, rived, riven, riving. 

1. to tear or rend apart.

   to rive meat from a bone.

2. to separate by striking; split; cleave.

3. to rend, harrow, or distress (the feelings, heart, etc.).

4. to split (wood) radially from a log.

verb (used without object)

rived, rived, riven, riving. 

1. to become rent or split apart.

   stones that rive easily.

rive

/ raɪv /

verb

1. to split asunder

   a tree riven by lightning

2. to tear apart

   riven to shreds

3. archaic,  to break (the heart) or (of the heart) to be broken

Other Word Forms

• unrived adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of rive¹

1225–75; Middle English riven < Old Norse rīfa to tear, split. See rift

Word History and Origins

Origin of rive¹

C13: from Old Norse rīfa ; related to Old Frisian rīva

Example Sentences

For a variety of reasons, though, these companies have a mixed record, since the business of mental health is a complex, riven ecosystem intertwined with insurers and regulations.

Read more on Barron's

Achieving this in a cultural environment as riven as ours would seem to be more difficult, yet none of the humor feels strained.

Read more on Salon

Years after being found dead in a Manhattan prison cell — killed by his own hand, according to authorities — Epstein appears to have done the near-impossible in this deeply riven nation.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Students often self-segregated, and the school’s academic sheen was riven by racial division.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Lord Adebowale said he would not call the NHS racist, but instead believed it was riven with inequalities, particularly racial inequalities.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• disintegrate 
• divide 
• fracture 
• rend 
• shatter 
• splinter