rift
rift Lexical Profile
rift Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A serious break or division in friendly relations between people, groups, or nations.
"The policy disagreement caused a deep rift within the committee that took months to heal."
A crack, split, or narrow opening in rock, earth, or clouds; specifically in geology, an elongated trough or valley formed by the faulting and divergence of tectonic plates.
"Geologists studied the volcanic activity along the massive continental rift."
• verb
To tear or split apart, or to form fissures, cracks, or geological faults.
"Over millions of years, the ancient supercontinent began to rift apart, creating a new ocean basin."
• Rhymes for rift
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in Middle English from Old Norse 'ript' or early Scandinavian equivalents meaning a breach or cleft, sharing the same Germanic root as the verb 'rive' (to tear apart).