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
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Recent Examples of cleft
Plowshare: an agricultural implement for turning soil, for gouging a cleft in the earth.
—
Literary Hub, 11 June 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for cleft
Literary Hub, 11 June 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for cleft
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cleft
Noun
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The controversy has highlighted both religious and political fissures.—
Peter Smith,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Mar. 2026
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Fuller’s sentiments about ongoing fissures in college sports reflect growing concerns across the industry that the current financial model is unsustainable.—
Eric Prisbell,
Dallas Morning News,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Wait for it to land and carefully suction it away with the narrow crevice tool of your vacuum cleaner.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
The Spruce,
5 Mar. 2026
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Accessories Handheld vacuums may come with various accessories that can add to their functionality, most commonly crevice tools and dusting brushes.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
27 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cleft.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cleft. Accessed 7 Mar. 2026.
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