rend

verb

ˈrend 

rent ˈrent  also rended ˈren-dəd  ; rending

transitive verb

1

: to remove from place by violence : wrest

2

: to split or tear apart or in pieces by violence

3

: to tear (the hair or clothing) as a sign of anger, grief, or despair

4

a

: to lacerate mentally or emotionally

b

: to pierce with sound

c

: to divide (something, such as a nation) into contesting factions

intransitive verb

1

: to perform an act of tearing or splitting

2

: to become torn or split

Synonyms

• rip
• tear

Choose the Right Synonym for rend

tear, rip, rend, split, cleave, rive mean to separate forcibly.

tear implies pulling apart by force and leaving jagged edges.

tear up the letter

rip implies a pulling apart in one rapid uninterrupted motion often along a line or joint.

ripped the shirt on a nail

rend implies very violent or ruthless severing or sundering.

an angry mob rent the prisoner's clothes

split implies a cutting or breaking apart in a continuous, straight, and usually lengthwise direction or in the direction of grain or layers.

split logs for firewood

cleave implies very forceful splitting or cutting with a blow.

a bolt of lightning cleaved the giant oak

rive occurs most often in figurative use.

a political party riven by conflict

Examples of rend in a Sentence

They rent the cloth to shreds.

mourners rending their clothes in grief

Recent Examples on the Web

Dallas keeps bringing up last year’s six-game win over Colorado in an apparent effort to buck up themselves and their despondent fans, who are rending their garments over a meaningless seven-game losing streak to end the season. —Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2025

The Seagull The season’s starriest show is Chekhov’s rending play about art, love and loss in a new version from Duncan Macmillan and Thomas Ostermeier, with Ostermeier directing. —Matt Wolf, New York Times, 3 Jan. 2025

In lesser hands, this might be one of those theatrical pieces that offers a nice excuse for actors to rend garments and gnash teeth onscreen — the sort of cinéma du Off-Broadway favored by microbudget indie directors and arthouse die-hards. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 6 Sep. 2024

The cuts will rend apart the truss section and send the pieces plunging into the river, unpinning the Dali. —Christine Condon, Baltimore Sun, 8 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English rendan; akin to Old Frisian renda to tear and perhaps to Sanskrit randhra hole

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Kids Definition

rend

verb

ˈrend 

rent ˈrent  also rended; rending

1

: to remove from place by force : wrest

2

: to split or tear apart or in pieces by force

3

: to tear (the hair or clothing) as a sign of anger, grief, or despair

4

: to affect as if splitting or tearing

silence rent by a scream