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
They has it civered with boards they rive out the woods.
From Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves. Texas Narratives, Part 2 by Work Projects Administration
He was rived by bitterness and profound envy toward the rich.
From New York Times ● Dec. 30, 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
The battle that Gil cannot leave behind is the war that rived his nation.
From Washington Post ● May 11, 2018
The academy has been rived by the accusations.
From New York Times ● Apr. 13, 2018
Dust arose and obscured everything but the flash of arms and armor which rived through it like lightning in a cloud.
From Saul of Tarsus A Tale of the Early Christians by Elizabeth Miller
The new lineup would likely reflect his priorities, including military modernization and tightening supervision of an officer corps long riven with patronage networks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 8, 2026
The book he writes about Lalo develops his thesis that Creole culture embodies the “collective spirit” needed to heal a country riven by racial division and civil strife.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 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
It began to drizzle, as if all that flying metal had riven holes in the clouds.
From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs
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
How to make a riving and a new life?
From Time Magazine Archive
Their two daughters are riving on the West Coast, and their son David, 18, is attending Auburn University in Alabama.
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
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