I. ˈrīv verb
( rived ˈrīvd ; also rove ˈrōv ; riv·en ˈrivən ; also rived ˈrīvd ; riv·ing ˈrīviŋ ; rives ˈrīvz)
Etymology: Middle English riven, from Old Norse rīfa; akin to Old Frisian rīva to tear, rend, Latin ripa bank, shore, Greek ereipein to dash down, tear down, Old English rāw row — more at row
transitive verb
1.
a. : to wrench open or tear apart or to pieces
great gray masses of cloud, riven by the hurricane — William Black
b. : to split or break up by or as if by a sharp instrument : cleave , sever
new highways riving the green — Donald Davidson
c. : to break or crack by or as if by a shock or impact : burst
riven pinnacles of stone gnawed by the waves into bizarre shapes — Norman Douglas
d. : pierce
not dug by the hand of man, these tunnels, but riven by nature — I.L.Idriess
e.
(1) : to divide into many pieces or factions : shatter
were riven with fears and alarms about subversion at home — Reinhold Niebuhr
the union is riven with discord — Earl Brown
bellows of triumph rive the night — H.H.Martin
(2) : fracture
a country so often riven by earthquakes — G.B.Sansom
detrital beds … riven by a series of faults — American Guide Series: Maryland
specifically : to crack or break up by the alternate freezing and thawing of water contained in fissures
where massive rock … is exposed in polar regions and on high mountain summits, frost riving is the dominant weathering process — O.D.Von Engeln
brecciated bedrock, perhaps largely frost- riven — Journal of Geology
2.
a. : to wrench or tear away
cloak riven from his back
— often used with off or away
bark of the trunk was riven off
a few stout heaves rived off the upper part of the lid — Harvey Graham
b. : to pull or tear down or out
storms … that rive the trunks of tallest cedars down — Thomas Otway
c. : to split off
huge rocks, riven by frost action from the side of the mountain — American Guide Series: New Hampshire
3. : to affect (as the heart or soul) with painful thoughts : stir by strong emotion
all thoughts to rive the heart are here — A.E.Housman
his soul does not appear to have been riven by a consciousness of sin — H.O.Taylor
a sudden craving rived him to be working again — Richard Llewellyn
was plainly riven by anger — T.R.Fyvel
4. : to make or form (as laths or boards) by splitting
hand- riven shingles
rived staves
— often used with out
went to work on those old cypress logs, sawing, chopping, hewing, and riving out boards to cover the house — Marjory S. Douglas
5. Scotland : plow 1
intransitive verb
1. : to become split : crack
the oak … riving and splitting round about the passage of the bullet — Thomas Fuller
2. : to break especially with sorrow : burst
he prays you as his heart would rive … to save his dear son's soul alive — D.G.Rossetti
Synonyms: see tear
II. ˈrīv noun
( -s )
1. dialect England : pull , tug
2. dialect England : cleft , rent