Synonyms of schism

schism

noun

ˈsi-zəm 

1

as in discord

a lack of agreement or harmony

schism within the charitable organization was preventing it from achieving its goals

Synonyms & Similar Words

• discord
• strife
• friction
• conflict
• war
• discordance
• dissent
• discordancy
• warfare
• division
• disunity
• dispute
• clash
• dissension
• disharmony
• dissonance
• infighting
• disunion
• variance
• altercation
• hostility
• dissidence
• disagreement
• divide
• inharmony
• contention
• disaccord
• argument
• collision
• debate
• fissure
• quarrel
• fight
• competition
• brawl
• animosity
• squabble
• falling-out
• antagonism
• enmity
• inconsistency
• bicker
• tiff
• spat
• incompatibility
• rancor
• incongruity
• incongruence
• run-in
• wrangle
• antipathy
• row
• cold war
• mix-up
• jar
• ill will
• inconsistence
• miff
• scrap
• incongruousness
• inconsonance
• hassle
• inharmoniousness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• agreement
• peace
• harmony
• accord
• cooperation
• concord
• concordance
• concurrence

2

as in split

the act or process of a whole separating into two or more parts or pieces

the schism of the Christian church into the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches

Synonyms & Similar Words

• split
• dissolution
• breakup
• division
• partition
• separation
• bifurcation
• cleavage
• disunion
• fractionation
• scission
• fractionalization
• sundering
• dispersion
• rupture
• polarization
• divorce
• decomposition
• dispersal
• distribution
• subdivision
• breach
• severance
• segregation
• segmentation
• administration
• isolation
• diffusion
• dismemberment
• apportionment
• scattering
• disassembly
• dichotomization
• atomization
• seclusion
• sequestration

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• union
• unification
• association
• connection
• assemblage
• attachment
• conjunction
• linkage
• link
• consolidation
• fusion
• combination
• aggregation
• linkup

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of schism

The Vatican said dialogue was offered to the ​group ahead of the schism and that the step of ordaining ​bishops without ⁠church approval was considered so grave that excommunication was automatic. — Reuters, NBC news, 5 July 2026

Parishioners at Saint Agnes said they were saddened by the schism and would continue to pray for a united church. — ABC News, 3 July 2026

The Vatican said on July 2 that priests and lay Catholics who are part of a breakaway right-wing Catholic group that ordained bishops without Pope Leo's approval were in schism with the wider Church and now excommunicated. — Joshua McElwee, USA Today, 2 July 2026

This actually comes in the wake of a public schism between showrunner Ryan Condal and universe overlord George RR Martin, who has bemoaned significant changes to his original story. — Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026