1
as in fracture
an opening caused by the sudden tearing or breaking of something
The earthquake created a rupture that spanned several miles. Doctors identified a rupture in his aorta.
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2
as in rift
the loss of good relations
The incident caused a diplomatic rupture between the two countries. They've been working to mend the rupture in their relationship.
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1
as in to fracture
to cause to develop a hole, crack, or tear often in a sudden and forceful or violent way
She was out for the rest of the season after she ruptured a tendon.
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2
as in to burst
to develop a hole, crack, or tear often in a sudden and forceful or violent way
The pipeline ruptured, leaking thousands of gallons of oil. The fault could rupture during the next major earthquake. High blood pressure caused the blood vessels to rupture.
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Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of rupture
Steve Bloom,
Rolling Stone,
16 June 2026
First arriving units found a six-story apartment building under construction that sustained a natural gas rupture from a three-inch gas line.
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Chelsea Hylton,
CBS News,
16 June 2026
Meredith Deliso,
ABC News,
11 June 2026
Jones, 29, is just over six months removed from rupturing his right Achilles last December.
—
James Boyd,
New York Times,
11 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for rupture
Noun
Allman’s testimony caused a rupture in the band and resulted in the first of several band breakups.
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Steve Bloom,
Rolling Stone,
16 June 2026
First arriving units found a six-story apartment building under construction that sustained a natural gas rupture from a three-inch gas line.
—
Chelsea Hylton,
CBS News,
16 June 2026
Verb
The 11 people killed after a chemical tank ruptured at a pulp and paper mill in Washington state last month all suffered chemical burns, officials said Thursday while releasing the autopsy results.
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Meredith Deliso,
ABC News,
11 June 2026
Jones, 29, is just over six months removed from rupturing his right Achilles last December.
—
James Boyd,
New York Times,
11 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for rupture
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rupture
Noun
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Earthquakes happen when a sudden slip along a fault — a fracture in Earth’s crust where rock masses move against one another — releases energy built up over time.
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The San Andreas fault is a fracture in the Earth that runs 800 miles northwesterly from the Salton Sea in the south up through San Francisco in the north.
Noun
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Their retreat from royal life sparked a long-standing rift within the family.
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The rift is increasingly public.
Verb
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This seasonal turn pulls you toward a time of reflection.
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To pull it off, the show’s creative team had to build a rock star from the ground up, crafting a visual identity, creating music that could stand on its own outside the series, and transforming Reid into a performer capable of owning a crowd rather than simply acting in front of one.
Verb
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Swirl it into a sauce à la minute, at most—heat will burst the eggs and reduce texture contrast.
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The second half was a completely different story, bursting with action on both ends of the pitch.
Noun
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So, too, does the idea that a soccer coach could close fissures that even the well-meaning among career politicians have failed to seal.
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The group is particularly interested in suspending, fracturing, and reconstructing time through which othered bodies and identities pass, and in exploring the attendant emerging fissures.
Noun
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Some of 2026’s primaries are showing a new schism — and the results should be ringing alarm bells across the network.
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The schism mirrors a similar one running through Silicon Valley.
Verb
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Puncture wounds are a classic example, but lacerations, fractures that break the skin, burns, crush injuries and even relatively minor cuts can also pose a risk if they are contaminated with dirt or debris.
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Verb
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Online sales boomed and Nekhala said his business exploded.
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Software engineers have arguably been the first class of workers to see the technology upend their jobs, as programming tools like Anthropic’s Claude Code and OpenAI’s Codex have exploded in popularity.
Cite this Entry
“Rupture.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rupture. Accessed 25 Jun. 2026.
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