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rend

 - 3 dictionary results

rend

  [rend] verb, rent, rend⋅ing.
Use rend in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to separate into parts with force or violence: The storm rent the ship to pieces.
2. to tear apart, split, or divide: a racial problem that is rending the nation.
3. to pull or tear violently (often fol. by away, off, up, etc.).
4. to tear (one's garments or hair) in grief, rage, etc.
5. to disturb (the air) sharply with loud noise.
6. to harrow or distress (the heart) with painful feelings.
–verb (used without object)
7. to split or tear something.
8. to become torn or split.
Origin:
bef. 950; ME renden, OE rendan; c. OFris renda

Related forms:
rend⋅i⋅ble, adjective

Synonyms:
2. rive, sunder, sever, cleave, chop, fracture, rupture. See tear 2 .
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To rend
rend   (rěnd)   
v.   rent (rěnt) or rend·ed, rend·ing, rends

v.   tr.

  1. To tear or split apart or into pieces violently. See Synonyms at tear1.

  2. To tear (one's garments or hair) in anguish or rage.

  3. To tear away forcibly; wrest.

  4. To pull, split, or divide as if by tearing: "Chip was rent between the impulse to laugh wildly and a bitterness that threatened hot tears" (Louis Auchincloss).

  5. To pierce or disturb with sound: a scream rent the silence.

  6. To cause pain or distress to: tales that rend the heart.

v.   intr.
To become torn or split; come apart.

[Middle English renden, from Old English rendan.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

rend 
O.E. rendon "to tear, cut," from W.Gmc. *randijanan (cf. O.Fris. renda "to cut, break," M.L.G. rende "anything broken"), related to rind. Not found in other Gmc. languages.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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