Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

rupture

[ruhp-cher]
See more synonyms for rupture on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the act of breaking or bursting: The flood led to the rupture of the dam.
  2. the state of being broken or burst: a rupture in the earth's surface.
  3. a breach of harmonious, friendly, or peaceful relations.
  4. Pathology. hernia, especially abdominal hernia.
Show More
verb (used with object), rup·tured, rup·tur·ing.
  1. to break or burst: He ruptured a blood vessel.
  2. to cause a breach of: to rupture friendly relations.
  3. Pathology. to affect with hernia.
Show More
verb (used without object), rup·tured, rup·tur·ing.
  1. to suffer a break or rupture.
Show More

Origin of rupture

1475–85; < Latin ruptūra (noun), equivalent to rupt(us) (past participle of rumpere to break) + -ūra -ure
Related formsrup·tur·a·ble, adjectivenon·rup·tur·a·ble, adjectivenon·rup·ture, nounun·rup·tur·a·ble, adjectiveun·rup·tured, adjective
Can be confusedrapture rupture

Synonyms

See more synonyms for rupture on Thesaurus.com
2. fracture, break, split, burst. 5. fracture, split, disrupt.

Antonyms

2. seam, union. 5. unite.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for rupture

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • If he remained only a few minutes it would indicate that there had been a rupture.

    Her Father's Daughter

    Gene Stratton-Porter

  • The married couple should, therefore, avoid everything which may rupture this link.

  • As soon as each understood the other's full intention, there would be a rupture.

  • Step by step the mother country and its colonies were advancing to a rupture.

  • It is rumored here that the Russian ambassador is no stranger to this rupture.'

    A Day's Ride

    Charles James Lever

British Dictionary definitions for rupture

rupture

noun
  1. the act of breaking or bursting or the state of being broken or burst
  2. a breach of peaceful or friendly relations
  3. pathol
    1. the breaking or tearing of a bodily structure or part
    2. another word for hernia
Show More
verb
  1. to break or burst or cause to break or burst
  2. to affect or be affected with a rupture or hernia
  3. to undergo or cause to undergo a breach in relations or friendship
Show More
Derived Formsrupturable, adjective

Word Origin

C15: from Latin ruptūra a breaking, from rumpere to burst forth; see erupt
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 rupture

n.

late 14c., originally medical, from Latin ruptura "the breaking (of an arm or leg), fracture," from past participle stem of rumpere "to break," from PIE *reup- "to snatch" (see rip (v.)). Specifically as "abdominal hernia" from early 15c.

Show More

v.

1739, from rupture (n.). Related: Ruptured; rupturing. Ruptured duck (1945) was U.S. GI's dismissive term (based on its design) for the discharge button they were awarded.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
rupture in Medicine

rupture

(rŭp′chər)
n.
  1. The process of breaking open or bursting.
  2. A hernia, especially of the groin or intestines.
  3. A tear in an organ or a tissue.
Show More
v.
  1. To break open; burst.
Show More
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.