Synonyms for rend
Synonyms by meaning
Verb
1. Rip
rip, rive, tear, pull, cleave, sunder, break, sever, disintegrate, shatter, divide, split, rupture, fracture, separate, crack, slit, disunite, dissever, fissure, dispart
2. Mangle
mangle, wring, afflict, wound, wrest, torment, pain, distress, rack, lacerate, vex, anguish, harass, harrow
Other
torat dated
Definitions
- v. 1
To separate into parts with force or sudden violence; to split; to burst.
Powder rends a rock in blasting.
- v. 2
To violently disturb the peace of; to throw into chaos.
a scream that rent the air
Related words
- Word family
- render
Forms
- Past participle
- rent
e.g. rent → ripped, rived, teared, pulled…
Choose the right word
Rend and tear are applied to the separating of textile substances into parts by force violently applied (rend also to frangible substances), tear being the milder, rend the stronger word.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- tear Tom said that he watched them tear down the house.
- rip What! This T-shirt is 3,000 yen? This is a rip-off!
- cleave The explorers were unable to cleave a path through the jungle.
- wring Wring those clothes well before you hang them up.
- mangle How did Tom mangle his hand?
By length
- 3 letters
- rip1, vex1
- 4 letters
- pain1, pull1, tear1, rack1, slit1, rive
- 5 letters
- break1, split1, crack1, wound1, sever2, wring1, wrest1, torat
- 6 letters
- divide2, harass2, harrow2, cleave1, sunder2, mangle2
- 7 letters
- torment2, anguish2, rupture2, shatter2, fissure2, afflict2, dispart
- 8 letters
- separate3, distress2, fracture2, lacerate3, disunite, dissever
- 12 letters
- disintegrate4
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (sever2 = 2 syllables).