rupture

[ ruhp-cher ]

noun

1. the act of breaking or bursting:

   The flood led to the rupture of the dam.

2. the state of being broken or burst:

   a rupture in the earth's surface.

   Synonyms: burst, split, break, fracture

   Antonyms: union, seam

3. a breach of harmonious, friendly, or peaceful relations.
4. Pathology. hernia, especially abdominal hernia.

verb (used with object)

, rup·tured, rup·tur·ing.

1. to break or burst:

   He ruptured a blood vessel.

   Synonyms: disrupt, split, fracture

   Antonyms: unite

2. to cause a breach of:

   to rupture friendly relations.

3. Pathology. to affect with hernia.

verb (used without object)

, rup·tured, rup·tur·ing.

1. to suffer a break or rupture.

rupture

/ ˈrʌptʃə /

noun

1. the act of breaking or bursting or the state of being broken or burst
2. a breach of peaceful or friendly relations
3. pathol
   1. the breaking or tearing of a bodily structure or part
   2. another word for hernia

verb

1. to break or burst or cause to break or burst
2. to affect or be affected with a rupture or hernia
3. to undergo or cause to undergo a breach in relations or friendship

Derived Forms

• ˈrupturable, adjective

Other Words From

• ruptur·a·ble adjective
• non·ruptur·a·ble adjective
• non·rupture noun
• un·ruptur·a·ble adjective
• un·ruptured adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of rupture¹

1475–85; < Latin ruptūra (noun), equivalent to rupt ( us ) (past participle of rumpere to break) + -ūra -ure

Word History and Origins

Origin of rupture¹

C15: from Latin ruptūra a breaking, from rumpere to burst forth; see erupt

Example Sentences

Adkins builds on a line of cases involving women like Kate Cox, a Texas woman who traveled out of state to seek an abortion after receiving a diagnosis of trisomy 18, a fetal condition that is usually fatal; and Amanda Zurawski, also from Texas, who suffered the preterm rupture of membranes, a condition that led to a severe infection that almost killed her.

From Slate

Researchers at UCLA’s Luskin Center for Innovation examined about 100,000 potential scenarios, including shortages caused by droughts or major earthquakes that could rupture aqueducts and cut off outside supplies.

From Los Angeles Times

After a major pipeline rupture five years ago, he started photographing and filming pools of oily water and heaps of blackened soil in locations in Unity State, including sites near Roriak, where the herders live.

From BBC

The news threatened to rupture the sunny image Palmer has been cultivating since she played Akeelah at age 12.

From Los Angeles Times

Without intervention, a constricted baby may fatally rupture the uterus, or cause tears that catastrophically haemorrhage.

From BBC

Related Words

• breach
• disruption
• estrangement
• misunderstanding
• rift
• schism