as in fissure
an irregular usually narrow break in a surface created by pressure
my fishing line managed to get wedged in a cleft in the rocks
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of cleft
The group of four were scaling the Early Winters Spires, jagged peaks split by a cleft that is popular with climbers in the North Cascade Range, about 160 miles northeast of Seattle.
—
CBS News, 14 May 2025
But today, the most important political cleft is not the fading distinction between right and left, but the rising conflict between liberal and illiberal, democratic and autocratic.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 28 Mar. 2025
Valproic acid causes birth defects that can be detected in utero such as oral clefts or spina bifida.
—Almut Winterstein, The Conversation, 30 Jan. 2025
Now that she’s become well known not only for her art and fashion, but for being a cleft advocate, speaking around the country about her experience with a cleft lip and palate, Glasses has been traveling a lot for personal appearances, which leaves precious little time for weaving.
—Booth Moore, WWD, 29 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for cleft
CBS News, 14 May 2025
But today, the most important political cleft is not the fading distinction between right and left, but the rising conflict between liberal and illiberal, democratic and autocratic.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 28 Mar. 2025
Valproic acid causes birth defects that can be detected in utero such as oral clefts or spina bifida.
—Almut Winterstein, The Conversation, 30 Jan. 2025
Now that she’s become well known not only for her art and fashion, but for being a cleft advocate, speaking around the country about her experience with a cleft lip and palate, Glasses has been traveling a lot for personal appearances, which leaves precious little time for weaving.
—Booth Moore, WWD, 29 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for cleft
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cleft
Noun
-
Those fissures burst into the open last week, when Tucker Carlson conducted a friendly interview with the cheerfully white nationalist streamer Nick Fuentes.—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
3 Nov. 2025
-
The journalist Beth Macy, who in her previous books chronicled the widening fissures in American society by examining the opioid crisis and the aftereffects of globalization, grew up there.—
Alex Kotlowitz,
The Atlantic,
29 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The Shark also comes with an upholstery tool and crevice tool for even deeper cleaning.—
Kaitlin Gates,
Better Homes & Gardens,
7 Nov. 2025
-
How To Keep Stink Bugs Out Stink bugs can squeeze into tight spaces between siding, crawl into cracks and crevices in window frames, and enter through open doors, windows, and vents.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
6 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cleft.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cleft. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share