riven
[ riv-uh n ]
/ ˈrɪv ən /
verb
a past participle of rive.
adjective
rent or split apart.
split radially, as a log.
Nearby words
rivalrous, rivalry, rivals, the, rive, rivel, riven, river, river basin, river birch, river blindness, river bugging
Related forms
un·riv·en, adjectiveDefinition for riven (2 of 2)
rive
[ rahyv ]
/ raɪv /
verb (used with object), rived, rived or riv·en, riv·ing.
to tear or rend apart: to rive meat from a bone.
to separate by striking; split; cleave.
to rend, harrow, or distress (the feelings, heart, etc.).
to split (wood) radially from a log.
verb (used without object), rived, rived or riv·en, riv·ing.
to become rent or split apart: stones that rive easily.
Origin of rive
Related forms
un·rived, adjectiveDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for riven
British Dictionary definitions for riven
rive
/ (raɪv) /
verb rives, riving, rived, rived or riven (ˈrɪvən) (usually passive)
to split asundera tree riven by lightning
to tear apartriven to shreds
archaic to break (the heart) or (of the heart) to be broken
Word Origin for rive
C13: from Old Norse rīfa; related to Old Frisian rīva
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