riven

[riv-uh n]

See more synonyms for riven on Thesaurus.com

verb

a past participle of rive.

adjective

rent or split apart.
split radially, as a log.

Related formsun·riv·en, adjective

rive

[rahyv]

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

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

Related formsun·rived, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for riven

divide, fray, rend, disintegrate, splinter, shatter, fracture, wrest, scratch, rip, impair, slit, extract, sever, frazzle, injure, damage, split, slash, crack

Examples from the Web for riven

Contemporary Examples of riven

But on the French left — riven by ideological splits from competing centuries — that job is akin to herding cats.
This Scary-Smart New Minister of Economy Might Just Turn France Around
Tracy McNicoll
August 31, 2014
The field was lackluster and riven by scandal (hello, Carlos Danger).
New York City Mayoral Race Looks Wonderfully Like Democracy at Its Best
Michael Daly
September 10, 2013
These things were supposed to protect Sweden from the class-and-ethnic conflict that has riven the United States, Britain, France.
What We Can Learn From Rioting in Sweden
Megan McArdle
May 28, 2013
And each side is riven by sharp internal divisions that make a deal difficult.
Fiscal Cliff Stalemate Needs Two-Party Solution
Daniel Gross
December 10, 2012
The country is riven by tribalism, regionalism and a host of armed militias who so far have refused to disarm.
A Ray of Light in Islamist Gloom
Benny Morris
July 17, 2012

Historical Examples of riven

Dear oak-tree, you are riven by the storm-king's thunderbolt!
A Little Book of Profitable Tales
Eugene Field
To the fugitives it was as if the whole world had suddenly been riven asunder.
The Golden Woman
Ridgwell Cullum
Could I not have riven his body in sunder and strewn it on the waves?
The Aeneid of Virgil
Virgil
His god appeared to be riven from him, and the revulsion in his mind was terrible.
Freaks of Fortune
Oliver Optic
The tower is riven, and it may be climbed along the edges of the crack.
Fragments of science, V. 1-2
John Tyndall

British Dictionary definitions for riven

rive

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

Word Origin and History for riven

adj.

"split, cloven, rent," c.1300, past participle adjective from rive "to tear, rend."

rive

"tear in pieces, strike asunder," c.1200, from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse rifa "to tear apart" (cf. Swedish rifva, Danish rive "scratch, tear"), from PIE root *rei- "to scratch, tear, cut" (see riparian).