rend

rend — verb

1. to use great physical strength to pull or rip something apart, separating it int

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveC1
Definition

to use great physical strength to pull or rip something apart, separating it into pieces — for example, rending a curtain from its rod or rending a piece of thick cloth with one's bare hands.

Example

A sudden gust of wind rent the old sail from top to bottom.

past tense: rent (irregular form)

The protesters rent their banners in frustration after the meeting was cancelled.

Common collocations
  • rend + object + apart
  • rend + object + in two
  • rend + object + from + something
  • rend one's clothes/garments (fixed literary expression)
  • be rent by/with (figurative: a country rent by civil war)
Synonyms
  • tear

    Everyday word for pulling something apart; less forceful and formal than rend.

  • rip

    Implies forceful tearing, often along a weak point; more common than rend in modern speech.

  • shred

    Specifically means tearing into thin strips, typically used for paper or documents.

  • split

    To divide along the length; may not involve tearing force the way rend does.

Antonyms
  • mend

    To repair something that has been torn or damaged.

  • join

    To connect or bring separate pieces together.

Grammar Patterns

rend + object

rend + apart/in two

Usage Note

Rend is a formal or literary word; in everyday English, 'tear' or 'rip' are far more common. The past tense and past participle is 'rent', not 'rended'. Common in figurative expressions such as 'rend the air' (of a loud sound) and 'a country rent by war'.

Common Mistakes

He rended the paper in half.
He rent the paper in half.
The past tense of 'rend' is 'rent', not 'rended'.
I will rend this piece of paper.
I will tear this piece of paper.
In casual everyday situations, 'tear' sounds much more natural than the formal/literary 'rend'.

Word family

  • rending
    adjectiveC1
  • heart-rending
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Tear is the most common everyday word for pulling something apart, and it can happen with little force or intention. Rip suggests a more forceful action, often along a seam or weak point, and is more common than rend in modern English. Shred is more specific — it means tearing into thin, narrow strips and is most often used for paper or documents. Split means to divide something along its length, which does not always involve tearing — a plank can be split with an axe. Rend is the most dramatic and literary of the five, carrying a sense of violence and emotional weight. A character in a novel might 'rend their garments in grief', but in daily life you would simply say you tore your shirt.

tearripshredsplit

Common collocations

Nouns

  • cloth
  • curtain
  • fabric
  • garment
  • veil
  • sail
  • rope

Adverbs

  • apart
  • in two
  • violently
  • asunder (literary)

Phrases

  • rend (something) apart
  • rend (something) in two
  • rend (something) from (something)
  • be rent by/with (figurative)

Prepositions

  • in
  • into
  • from
  • by

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

Rend comes from Old English 'rendan', which meant to tear or cut apart. It is related to similar words in other Germanic languages and has been part of English for over a thousand years, though today it is mainly used in formal writing and literature.