as in rips
to cause (something) to separate into jagged pieces by violently pulling at it
the prophecy that the disaster would cause people to rend their garments in mourning
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rends
Verb
-
As several women listen intently, Belushi, donning a toga, rips the guitar out of Bishop's hands and smashes it into a wall.—
Mark Gray,
PEOPLE,
5 Oct. 2025 -
Advertisement Never one to give up, Arisu rips a piece of the grid room’s floor from its moorings and uses it to smash into the screen wall separating him from the outside.—
Kayti Burt,
Time,
26 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The Achilles tears that the Boston Celtics' Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers suffered during the 2025 playoffs have made the race for the conference wide open this coming season.—
Robert Marvi,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 Sep. 2025
-
In this kind of system, scientists theorize that the black hole tears the neutron star apart before swallowing it, which releases electromagnetic waves.—
Chad Hanna,
The Conversation,
10 Sep. 2025
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.
Cite this Entry
“Rends.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rends. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share