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 Synonym Discussion at tear

Rhymes with RIVE

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