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

• ribbon
• rip
• rive
• shred
• tatter
• 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

Example Sentences

They rent the cloth to shreds.

mourners rending their clothes in grief

Recent Examples on the Web

Jakes was, by his own admission, not a great stylist and his plots were crafted for maximum heart-rending drama rather than logical soundness. —John Warner, Chicago Tribune, 25 Mar. 2023

The overwhelming majority live outside of city centers and the heart-rending decisions NGOs make every day of which lives to save in an environment of evaporating resources leaves that majority too often unattended. —Thomas Sadoski, CNN, 2 Mar. 2023

Every year, the Oscar nomination announcements tend to inspire shrieks of joy, yelps of surprise, and the loud gnashing of teeth and rending of garments. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 2 Mar. 2023

Could the dark energy that’s accelerating the expansion of the universe eventually rend apart spacetime? —Steven Strogatz, Quanta Magazine, 22 Feb. 2023

Metal hooks linked to chains obey Pinhead's commands and rend the flesh from his victims! —Steven Thrash, EW.com, 14 Nov. 2022

But in Amsterdam, Gomperts didn’t rend her clothes. —Mattie Kahn, Glamour, 25 Oct. 2022

During highly sensationalized and publicized court cases, terms to describe abusive behavior often rend online. —NBC News, 23 Apr. 2022

Pundits and politicians who rend their garments over the evils of gerrymandering never propose to give back their policy winnings from this period. —Dan Mclaughlin, National Review, 11 Feb. 2022

See More

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