1
as in fractured
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.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
2
as in exploded
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.
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
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 ruptured
Officials have finished cleanup and containment efforts at Englebright Lake following a 14-foot-diameter pipeline ruptured at the New Colgate Powerhouse, the Yuba Water Agency announced on Friday.
—
Chaewon Chung, Sacbee.com, 9 Mar. 2026
Call it a well-ahead-of-schedule return for Tatum, the perennial All-Star who ruptured his Achilles in Game 4 of the Boston Celtics’ second-round playoff series against the Knicks last season.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 9 Mar. 2026
Officials said a 42-inch water main in the area ruptured.
—CBS News, 8 Mar. 2026
Selter noted Malinovsky had artery problems, with plaque present, and one had ruptured.
—Helen I. Bennett, Hartford Courant, 4 Mar. 2026
At higher pressures, some membranes ruptured, and internal structures were affected, but many microbes remained viable.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 3 Mar. 2026
The fuel tanks ruptured, and the entire tail section fell off, along with the right wing.
—Burkhard Bilger, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2026
Major blood vessels in Zavaleta’s brain ruptured and she was transported to UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital, where she was placed in an induced coma and received complex emergency surgery.
—Stacy Perman, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2026
Ekwonu ruptured his patellar tendon in the playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams last month.
—Charlotte Observer, 24 Feb. 2026
Chaewon Chung, Sacbee.com, 9 Mar. 2026
Call it a well-ahead-of-schedule return for Tatum, the perennial All-Star who ruptured his Achilles in Game 4 of the Boston Celtics’ second-round playoff series against the Knicks last season.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 9 Mar. 2026
Officials said a 42-inch water main in the area ruptured.
—CBS News, 8 Mar. 2026
Selter noted Malinovsky had artery problems, with plaque present, and one had ruptured.
—Helen I. Bennett, Hartford Courant, 4 Mar. 2026
At higher pressures, some membranes ruptured, and internal structures were affected, but many microbes remained viable.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 3 Mar. 2026
The fuel tanks ruptured, and the entire tail section fell off, along with the right wing.
—Burkhard Bilger, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2026
Major blood vessels in Zavaleta’s brain ruptured and she was transported to UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital, where she was placed in an induced coma and received complex emergency surgery.
—Stacy Perman, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2026
Ekwonu ruptured his patellar tendon in the playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams last month.
—Charlotte Observer, 24 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ruptured
Verb
-
Celtics backup center Nikola Vucevic fractured his right ring finger Friday night and is expected to miss at least the next three weeks.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
8 Mar. 2026
-
Kurdish opposition parties both in Iran and across the region are fractured, with differing ideologies and competing agendas.—
John Calabrese,
The Conversation,
7 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Carter sputtered early but exploded in the second and third quarters to run away with a 67-41 win.—
Darren Lauber,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 Mar. 2026
-
While regional Mexican music has exploded internationally in recent years, Jacques acknowledges that norteñas and corridos tend to dominate the genre’s spotlight.—
Isabela Raygoza,
Billboard,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Brent crude, which at one point neared $120 a barrel, pulled back significantly to around $90.—
Alaa Shahine Salha,
semafor.com,
11 Mar. 2026
-
As a result, insurers, oil companies and cargo firms have pulled back from operating in the area or transiting the critical waterway.—
Steve Kopack,
NBC news,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Few cities are as bursting with history, from the medieval streets of its Old Town to the spacious boulevards of its 18th-century New Town.—
Maureen O'Hare,
CNN Money,
14 Mar. 2026
-
With four attacking players on the pitch, Bernardo Silva and Rodri were left exposed in the centre, as were a back four who could not cope once Madrid burst through midfield.—
James Horncastle,
New York Times,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The canines ripped through tough hides, devouring high-fat tissue and leaving carcasses with soft meat on the bone—a perfect meal for ravens who seemed to follow the kill.—
Nidhi Sharma,
Popular Science,
12 Mar. 2026
-
Strong tornadoes and large hail ripped through Illinois and Indiana Tuesday night, leveling homes in their wake and killing two people in northwest Indiana.—
Madeline King,
Chicago Tribune,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The Big East acknowledged after the game the officials blew the calls.—
Senior Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Mar. 2026
-
Anything before not worth thinking about since this was the performance that stuck with me, the one that blew me away and turned me into a jazz fiend.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
But Sinner broke Zverev in both the fifth and seventh games to secure the first set.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Mar. 2026
-
The Millennia Library, part of the broader campus vision, broke ground in 2023.—
Walker Armstrong,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
15 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Decades after the highway first tore through our borough, children here still battle the worst asthma rates nationwide.—
Gustavo Rivera,
New York Daily News,
10 Mar. 2026
-
Several of the Grand Canyon’s most popular trails remain closed after devastating wildfires tore through the park.—
Outside,
Outside,
10 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ruptured.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ruptured. Accessed 15 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
