rupture

[ruhp-cher]

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.

   Synonyms: burst, split, break, fracture
   Antonyms: union, seam

3. a breach of harmonious, friendly, or peaceful relations.

4. Pathology.,  hernia, especially abdominal hernia.

verb (used with object)

ruptured, rupturing 

1. to break or burst.

   He ruptured a blood vessel.

   Synonyms: disrupt, split, fracture
   Antonyms: unite

2. to cause a breach of.

   to rupture friendly relations.

3. Pathology.,  to affect with hernia.

verb (used without object)

ruptured, rupturing 

1. to suffer a break or rupture.

rupture

/ ˈrʌptʃə /

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

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

Other Word Forms

• rupturable adjective
• nonrupturable adjective
• nonrupture noun
• unrupturable adjective
• unruptured adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of rupture¹

1475–85; < Latin ruptūra (noun), equivalent to rupt ( us ) (past participle of rumpere to break) + -ūra -ure

Word History and Origins

Origin of rupture¹

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

Example Sentences

Whether India can repair the deeper political rupture remains uncertain.

Read more on BBC

I feel the ground underneath the building rupture—I can almost taste the iron in the liquefied earth.

Read more on Literature

Is something paranormal afoot or is the rupture in Montessori’s mind?

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Meanwhile, a growing rupture with Putin has triggered a public exchange of veiled threats over each country’s nuclear arsenal.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The rupture has complicated what looked like a workable plan less than two months ago, though investors think a rate cut at the Fed’s next meeting is still more likely than not.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• burst 
• disrupt 
• erupt 
• fracture 
• puncture 
• sever 
• shatter 
• sunder 
• tear