1
as in disrupts
to cause to separate into pieces usually suddenly or forcibly
road pavement that had been riven by the annual freeze-and-thaw cycle
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in rips
to cause (something) to separate into jagged pieces by violently pulling at it
the bitter disappointment threatened to rive my heart in two
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rives
Verb
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The condition disrupts the production of CoQ10, a molecule essential for generating energy inside cells, leading to rapid neurological decline and loss of mobility.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
1 Jan. 2026 -
In other words, alcohol disrupts hydration, irritates the gut, inflames blood vessels, messes with sleep, and forces your liver into metabolic overdrive.—
Ciara Lucas,
SELF,
30 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Eleven flies up to be face-to-face with the Mind Flayer, rips out his throat, jumps inside, and in one sleek-as-hell move, rips Vecna down from the Mind Flayer power source he’s been plugged into.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
1 Jan. 2026
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In the clip, Oshry, who welcomed her first son Reuben, with her husband, Ben Soffer, in May, reaches into her fridge to grab a head of cabbage, then rips open her animal-print bathrobe to show a compression bra stuffed with cabbage leaves.—
Cara Lynn Shultz,
PEOPLE,
16 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Soon after, a desperate man named Boomba, who witnessed Ma stealing from the shelter, breaks into her home and swipes her food, her phone, and a purse containing her family’s invaluable travel documents.—
Tope Folarin,
The Atlantic,
8 Nov. 2025
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Director Dan Trachtenberg breaks it down for us.—
Lauren Huff,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
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This is definitely something that tears at your heartstrings.—
Alexandra Simon,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026
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These bags keep the items from experiencing friction that tears at the fibers.—
Ashlyn Needham,
Southern Living,
29 Dec. 2025
Verb
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These pressures could produce a tsunami that fractures the state’s fiscal foundation, self-inflicts a crisis ultimately demanding drastic cuts, and cripples its competitiveness.—
Andrew Rein,
New York Daily News,
6 Jan. 2026
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The film’s emotional mirror — separation, misunderstanding, and the slow violence of misrepresentation — fractures its political one.—
Ana Gutierrez,
Austin American Statesman,
19 Nov. 2025
Verb
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One such affliction is Tay-Sachs, a disease that disproportionately affects people of Ashkenazi descent and destroys brain and spinal nerve cells.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
7 Nov. 2025
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The movie follows a similar arc, with an additional subplot in which the creature destroys the city while under the influence of a powerful demon.—
Katie Rife,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The debris – space rocks known as meteoroids – collides with Earth's atmosphere at high speed and disintegrates, creating fiery and colorful streaks in the sky, according to NASA.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
2 Jan. 2026
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The debris — space rocks known as meteoroids — collides with Earth's atmosphere at high speed and disintegrates, creating fiery and colorful streaks in the sky, according to NASA.—
Doris Alvarez Cea,
Florida Times-Union,
2 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Rives.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rives. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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