Meaning & use
Rending
Last updated
Tearing or ripping something apart forcefully, or, figuratively, causing intense emotional pain.
See it in a sentence
The wind went rending through the old tent, shredding the canvas in seconds.
Her sobs were heart-rending, filling the room with raw grief.
A note on using this word
"Rending" comes from the verb "rend," whose past tense is the irregular form "rent" rather than "rended."
Words with a similar meaning
tearingrippingshredding
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
mending
Another way to use it
2. adjective
Deeply distressing or anguishing.
The refugee's rending account of the journey left the audience in tears.
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