fissure

1 of 2

noun

fis·​sure ˈfi-shər How to pronounce fissure (audio)
1
: a narrow opening or crack of considerable length and depth usually occurring from some breaking or parting
a fissure in the earth's crust
2
a
: a natural cleft between body parts or in the substance of an organ
b
: a break or slit in tissue usually at the junction of skin and mucous membrane
3
: a separation or disagreement in thought or viewpoint : schism
fissures in a political party

fissure

2 of 2

verb

fissured; fissuring

transitive verb

: to break into fissures : cleave

Examples of fissure in a Sentence

Noun a fissure in the Earth's crust a deep fissure in the ice
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
If the 7th Congressional District features internal Democratic fissures, Illinois' 12th Congressional District features Republican divides. Tal Axelrod, ABC News, 19 Mar. 2024 Guðmundsson said the fissure, which is very active now, extends from the northern side of Hagafell and north to Stóra-Skógfell. Mariya Knight, CNN, 16 Mar. 2024 The biggest fissure is the debt and litigation costs stemming from Bayers’s 2018 acquisition of agriculture firm Monsanto, but the aspirin-maker’s pharmaceutical portfolio is also facing strain. Allison Deangelis, STAT, 15 Mar. 2024 Notably, 1970 was also the year in which the tectonic fissures between John Lennon and Paul McCartney began to widen to the point of no return, leading to the breakup of the band. Guy Martin, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024 Last year, one other key fissure was how the Democrats voted on a deal between President Biden and then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy to suspend the nation’s borrowing limit until 2025 and impose cuts on certain federal programs that are popular among Democrats. Benjamin Oreskes, Los Angeles Times, 1 Feb. 2024 Sometimes, her dad would bring home random recordings with cello on them; a concerto by avant-garde composer Gyorgy Ligeti opened up a fissure in her 11-year-old mind. Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 5 Mar. 2024 Related article Iceland volcano erupts again, molten rocks spew from fissures Located just under an hour’s drive from Iceland’s capital and largest city Reykjavik, the Blue Lagoon is one of the country’s most popular tourist attractions. Catherine Nicholls, CNN, 2 Mar. 2024 The most recent eruption, on February 8, gushed lava from a fissure nearly two miles long in a similar region as the December eruption, cutting off hot water for thousands of residents. Maya Wei-Haas, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Feb. 2024
Verb
Challenges ahead Bailey is becoming chief at a time when deadly shootings by officers have exploded, fissuring relationships with the community that remain strained from the police killing of George Floyd in 2020 and fatal shooting of Dreasjon Reed by an Indianapolis officer on May 6 the same year. Sarah Nelson, The Indianapolis Star, 12 Feb. 2024 Beginning with the backlash to the 2008 election of Barack Obama, Lowery examines how American society has fissured in the past 15 years, profiling the victims of white supremacy and the institutions that support it. CALIFORNIA, A SLAVE STATE, by Jean Pfaelzer. New York Times, 23 June 2023 The other stream of cultural anthropology will continue to evolve and fissure, as a thousand 'discourses' bloom. Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 25 Feb. 2013 But where some teams fissure under the weight of unfulfilled expectations, going through that experience collectively made this group even tighter. Eric Walden, The Salt Lake Tribune, 5 June 2021 The statements made by Camille Locht and Jean-Paul Mira fed into a world already fissured by deep-rooted racial and economic discrimination. Gale Ure, Quartz Africa, 25 Apr. 2020 Even before Saturday’s major aftershock, which fissured more roads and prompted more landslides, Puerto Rico estimated damages from a 6.4-magnitude quake on Tuesday at $110 million. Patricia Mazzei, New York Times, 11 Jan. 2020 This land is made of igneous rock fissured with gold. Juliana Hanle, Scientific American, 18 Nov. 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fissure.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French fissure, borrowed from Latin fissūra "splitting, crack, opening," from fissus, past participle of findere "to split, cleave" + -ūra -ure — more at bite entry 1

Verb

derivative of fissure entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1656, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of fissure was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near fissure

Cite this Entry

“Fissure.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fissure. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

fissure

noun
fis·​sure
ˈfish-ər
1
: a narrow opening or crack
a fissure in rock
2
: a narrow natural space between body parts (as bones of the skull) or in the material making up an organ
fissure verb

Medical Definition

fissure

noun
1
: a natural cleft between body parts or in the substance of an organ: as
a
: any of several clefts separating the lobes of the liver
b
: any of various clefts between bones or parts of bones in the skull
c
: any of the deep clefts of the brain
especially : one of those located at points of elevation in the walls of the ventricles compare sulcus
2
: a break or slit in tissue usually at the junction of skin and mucous membrane
fissure of the lip
3
: a linear developmental imperfection in the enamel of a tooth

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