rifts 1 of 2

noun

plural of rift
1
as in fissures
an irregular usually narrow break in a surface created by pressure a small rift opened in the earth's crust

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in gaps
an open space in a barrier (as a wall or hedge) it was possible to peek through the rift in the fence and see the ball game

Synonyms & Similar Words

rifts

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of rift
as in fractures

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rifts
Noun
His close ties to Trump may keep the American president at the table, but are unlikely to mend the rifts. — Lorne Cook, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 2026 And that is causing problems and rifts between him and Senate Republicans. — Dana Taylor, USA Today, 24 June 2026 And whatever rifts had formed in his relationship with Altman were largely absent from social media. — Ashley Capoot,lora Kolodny, CNBC, 18 May 2026 The fallout from Batula and Wilson’s relationship caused some rifts in the friend group, and their exits were not entirely surprising. — Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 29 June 2026 These are old rifts within Hispanic communities that the figure of Gálvez alone, and our presence at the time of independence, cannot reconcile. — Geraldo L. Cadava, The Atlantic, 3 July 2026 For a party that prides itself on diversity, the clashes have exacerbated fierce debates over identity politics and long-standing rifts between progressives and moderates. — ABC News, 28 June 2026 The deeper the rifts between the United States and Europe over Iran, the greater the chances of weakening the NATO alliance. — Sudarsan Raghavan, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2026 The breastfeeding billing battle UnitedHealthcare is cutting back on paying for lactation counseling, and the clinicians who provide those services are up in arms, another example of the deepening rifts between providers and insurers. — Bob Herman, STAT, 8 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rifts
  1. fissures
  2. gaps
  3. fractures
  4. crevices
  5. holes
  6. ruptures
  7. tears
  8. gashes
Noun
  • So, too, does the idea that a soccer coach could close fissures that even the well-meaning among career politicians have failed to seal.
    — Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 18 June 2026
  • The group is particularly interested in suspending, fracturing, and reconstructing time through which othered bodies and identities pass, and in exploring the attendant emerging fissures.
    — News Desk, Artforum, 17 June 2026
Definition of fissures
Noun
  • Casemiro was able to coast through performances against poor Haiti and Scotland sides in two of Brazil’s group stage games, but Morocco provided much sterner opposition that exposed some worrying gaps in midfield.
    — Mark Carey, New York Times, 6 July 2026
  • The problem, inherent to the design, has always been the physical gaps between those individual boxes.
    — Dave Brooks, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2026
Definition of gaps
Verb
  • When ambitious young athlete Jamal (Stenline) enters her life and confronts the dangerous world around her, everything fractures.
    — Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 1 July 2026
  • And Mary’s electric, palpably physical pursuit of justice becomes even more crucial in the final act, after a grotesque display of performative mockery toward Māori culture fractures the last remnants of civility present amid one of Cole’s lavish-yet-repulsive gatherings.
    — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 17 May 2026
Definition of fractures
Noun
  • From clever watermelon slicers to brushes designed to slide into tight crevices, shop more surprisingly useful gadgets below.
    — Better Homes & Gardens, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 July 2026
  • In it, pieces of raw fish are put in the cracks, crevices, and folds of the skin of Zach Holmes, another of the new cast members, who is a large man.
    — Elisabeth Garber-Paul, Rolling Stone, 28 June 2026
Definition of crevices
Noun
  • The Chileans drilled holes allowing workers to insert a camera and pinpoint his location.
    — Mery Mogollón, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 2026
  • Plus, Hannah Vanbiber uncovers why World Cup players are cutting holes in their socks.
    — The Athletic, New York Times, 4 July 2026
Definition of holes
Verb
  • Then, a scream ruptures the quiet.
    — Ashley Andreou, STAT, 22 June 2026
  • The boiling water creates intense thermal shock that instantly ruptures the plant's cell walls, melting its protective waxy coating and causing the foliage to collapse and dehydrate, effectively cooking the plant tissue.
    — SJ McShane, Martha Stewart, 10 June 2026
Definition of ruptures
Verb
  • Carter further complicates things in last week’s episode, when he drunkly tears an animal mount off the wall during Oreana’s grandmother’s big party at the 10-Petal Ranch.
    — Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 June 2026
  • As an example of how his platform would work, Wehmeyer pointed to processing insurance claims after a tornado tears through a house in Minnesota.
    — Camila Grigera Naón, Fortune, 24 June 2026
Definition of tears
Verb
  • The front lid appears to be barely hanging on by a thread, with cuts and gashes throughout.
    — Amelia McBride, Travel + Leisure, 10 Apr. 2026
  • Heupel spreads out his receivers in an attempt to spread out the defense, then gashes them with the run.
    — Seth Emerson, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2025
Definition of gashes

Browse Nearby Words

rifting
rifts
rift valley
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Cite this Entry

“Rifts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rifts. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on rifts

Nglish: Translation of rifts for Spanish Speakers

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