sunder

verb

sun·​der ˈsən-dər 

sundered; sundering ˈsən-d(ə-)riŋ 

transitive verb

: to break apart or in two : separate by or as if by violence or by intervening time or space

intransitive verb

: to become parted, disunited, or severed

Synonyms

• divide
• separate
• split
• disconnect
• sever

Choose the Right Synonym for sunder

separate, part, divide, sever, sunder, divorce mean to become or cause to become disunited or disjointed.

separate may imply any of several causes such as dispersion, removal of one from others, or presence of an intervening thing.

separated her personal life from her career

part implies the separating of things or persons in close union or association.

vowed never to part

divide implies separating into pieces or sections by cutting or breaking.

civil war divided the nation

sever implies violence especially in the removal of a part or member.

a severed limb

sunder suggests violent rending or wrenching apart.

a city sundered by racial conflict

divorce implies separating two things that commonly interact and belong together.

cannot divorce scientific research from moral responsibility

Examples of sunder in a Sentence

a family sundered by scandal

during the cold war East and West Berlin were sundered by an impenetrable wall

Recent Examples on the Web

But oddly, The New Yorker at 100 doesn’t explore the biggest challenge the magazine has faced in the last 15 years or so – responding to the digital age that sundered so many other once-influential magazines like Time, Newsweek, and Sports Illustrated (which technically still exist, but whatever). —Matthew Carey, Deadline, 1 Sep. 2025

Comcast and Versant won’t be completely sundered after the split, as the USGA deal demonstrates. —David Bloom, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025

How many lives have been lost, people injured, families sundered? —Kevin Sabet, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 July 2025

Moore and Prater sundered their professional relationship in 1970. —Chris Morris, Variety, 11 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English gesundrian, syndrian; akin to Old High German suntarōn to sunder, Old English sundor apart, Latin sine without, Sanskrit sanutar away

First Known Use

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

Rhymes for sunder

• blunder
• bunder
• funder
• plunder
• thunder
• under
• asunder

Kids Definition

sunder

verb

sun·​der ˈsən-dər 

sundered; sundering -d(ə-)riŋ 

: to break or force apart or in two