rive

rive

verb \ˈrīv\

rived\ˈrīvd\riv·en\ˈri-vən\ also rivedriv·ing\ˈrī-viŋ\

Definition of RIVE

transitive verb

1

a : to wrench open or tear apart or to pieces : rend b : to split with force or violence

2

a : to divide into pieces <nations riven by civil war> b : fracture

intransitive verb

: to become split : crack

Examples of RIVE

1. <road pavement that had been riven by the annual freeze-and-thaw cycle>
2. <the bitter disappointment threatened to rive my heart in two>

Origin of RIVE

Middle English, from Old Norse rīfa; akin to Greek ereipein to tear down

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to RIVE

Synonyms: break up, bust, distintegrate, dismember, disrupt, fracture, fragment, break

Related Words: atomize, crush, grind, powder, pulverize, reduce; blast, blow up, burst, detonate, explode; crack, pop, shatter, shiver, smash; chip, sliver, splinter, split; implode; destroy, ruin, wreck

Near Antonyms: doctor, fix, heal, mend, patch, rebuild, recondition, reconstruct, renovate, repair

see all synonyms and antonyms

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See Synonym Discussion at tear

Rhymes with RIVE

chive, Clive, dive, drive, five, gyve, hive, jive, live, shrive, skive, strive, thrive, wive