1
as in to disrupt
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to rip
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
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Recent Examples of rive
Online scam factories – many run by Chinese crime syndicates – have proliferated in Myanmar, which has been riven by a bloody civil war since the military seized power in 2021.
—
Kocha Olarn, CNN, 5 Feb. 2025
Abdullah Rashid / Reuters file The visit, the first such trip to Iraq by a sitting pope, was at the time considered to be dangerous, with Iraq long riven by sectarian violence between Shia and Sunni Muslims.
—David Hodari, NBC News, 18 Dec. 2024
Now the scramble is on to define the future of Syria, quickly, to prevent ethnic, political, and sectarian rivalries from triggering a war even more divisive than the conflict that has riven the nation for thirteen years.
—Robin Wright, The New Yorker, 15 Dec. 2024
In his unvarnished memoir, Laymon explores the cumulative mass of a past that has brought him to this point: his Blackness; his fraught relationship to food; his family, riven by loss and addiction and, in his mother’s case, a kind of pathological perfectionism.
—New York Times, 8 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for rive
Kocha Olarn, CNN, 5 Feb. 2025
Abdullah Rashid / Reuters file The visit, the first such trip to Iraq by a sitting pope, was at the time considered to be dangerous, with Iraq long riven by sectarian violence between Shia and Sunni Muslims.
—David Hodari, NBC News, 18 Dec. 2024
Now the scramble is on to define the future of Syria, quickly, to prevent ethnic, political, and sectarian rivalries from triggering a war even more divisive than the conflict that has riven the nation for thirteen years.
—Robin Wright, The New Yorker, 15 Dec. 2024
In his unvarnished memoir, Laymon explores the cumulative mass of a past that has brought him to this point: his Blackness; his fraught relationship to food; his family, riven by loss and addiction and, in his mother’s case, a kind of pathological perfectionism.
—New York Times, 8 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for rive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rive
Verb
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Shearing emphasized that there are no true winners in a tariff war, as higher prices harm consumers and disrupt global supply chains.—
Hannah Parry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Apr. 2025
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Behind the scenes there was no doubt other dreams were dashed and processes disrupted.—
Evan Clark,
Footwear News,
10 Apr. 2025
Verb
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But Paredes singled on a first-pitch fastball from Jax, and Alvarez ripped the reliever’s pitch for a no-doubt, two-run homer.—
Dan Hayes,
New York Times,
7 Apr. 2025
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Gabriel was among at least nine people killed across several states after a rash of deadly storms ripped through the central US, spawning dozens of tornadoes, dumping more than a foot of rain and leaving catastrophic flooding.—
Holly Yan,
CNN Money,
5 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.—
Dalton Ross,
EW.com,
10 Apr. 2025
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The only Heat players ruled out Wednesday are Nikola Jovic (broken right hand), Kevin Love (personal reasons) and Dru Smith (left Achilles surgery).—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
10 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Since becoming president again, Trump has publicly torn into Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy but also tried to pressure Russia's Vladimir Putin to accept a peace deal.—
Time,
Time,
1 Apr. 2025
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The roof was torn off at least one home in the McEwen area.—
Matthew Rehbein,
CNN Money,
31 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The recall was caused by the vehicles potentially having a rear axle horizontal mounting bolt that may fracture and cause the driveshaft to disconnect.—
James Powel,
USA Today,
31 Mar. 2025
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First baseman Tyler Black, the No. 6 prospect in the Brewers’ system was expected to open the season with Nashville but will instead miss the first 6-8 weeks of the season after fracturing the hamate bone in his right hand.—
Andrew Wagner,
Forbes.com,
28 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The Seagull The season’s starriest show is Chekhov’s rending play about art, love and loss in a new version from Duncan Macmillan and Thomas Ostermeier, with Ostermeier directing.—
Matt Wolf,
New York Times,
3 Jan. 2025
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In lesser hands, this might be one of those theatrical pieces that offers a nice excuse for actors to rend garments and gnash teeth onscreen — the sort of cinéma du Off-Broadway favored by microbudget indie directors and arthouse die-hards.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
6 Sep. 2024
Verb
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Currently, our cyber defense is disastrously fragmented across multiple entities—U.S. Cyber Command (CYBERCOM), NSA, Department of Homeland Security, CISA, FBI, and the private sector.—
Jason D. Greenblatt,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Apr. 2025
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The industry generates an enormous amount of it, yet most of that information is fragmented, making AI’s full potential hard to reach.—
Derek Streat,
Forbes.com,
2 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rive. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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