1
a
: to wrench open or tear apart or to pieces : rend
b
: to split with force or violence
2
a
: to divide into pieces or fractions
an organization being riven by controversy
b
: fracture
: to become split : crack
Synonyms
Examples of rive in a Sentence
road pavement that had been riven by the annual freeze-and-thaw cycle
the bitter disappointment threatened to rive my heart in two
Recent Examples on the Web
That dynamic — along with the overheated water of the Atlantic — created for the sailors a patch of ocean riven by errant low-pressure fronts and violent storms like the one Jack was fighting three days later.
—
Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2024
Divided on campus and beyond In the current moment, college campuses have been riven with debates over the boundaries between student safety and free speech and whether criticism of Israel constitutes antisemitism.
—Marjorie N. Feld, The Conversation, 20 June 2024
Maintaining cohesion in a society riven by deep differences is a serious challenge that has been recognized as such by a wide range of political thinkers.
—Ramesh Ponnuru, Washington Post, 18 June 2024
To be a mathematician in the decades that birthed Bourbaki was to struggle to find common ground in a world riven by war and conflict.
—Michael Barany, JSTOR Daily, 24 Mar. 2021
See all Example Sentences for rive 
Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2024
Divided on campus and beyond In the current moment, college campuses have been riven with debates over the boundaries between student safety and free speech and whether criticism of Israel constitutes antisemitism.
—Marjorie N. Feld, The Conversation, 20 June 2024
Maintaining cohesion in a society riven by deep differences is a serious challenge that has been recognized as such by a wide range of political thinkers.
—Ramesh Ponnuru, Washington Post, 18 June 2024
To be a mathematician in the decades that birthed Bourbaki was to struggle to find common ground in a world riven by war and conflict.
—Michael Barany, JSTOR Daily, 24 Mar. 2021
See all Example Sentences for rive
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Rive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rive. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
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