sunder

[ suhn-der ]

verb (used with object)

1. to separate; part; divide; sever.

verb (used without object)

1. to become separated; part.

sunder

/ ˈsʌndə /

verb

1. to break or cause to break apart or in pieces

noun

1. in sunder
   into pieces; apart

Derived Forms

• ˈsunderer, noun
• ˈsunderable, adjective
• ˈsunderance, noun

Other Words From

• sun·der·a·ble adjective
• sun·der·ance noun
• sun·der·er noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of sunder¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English sundren, Old English sundrian; cognate with German sondern, Old Norse sundra; sundry

Word History and Origins

Origin of sunder¹

Old English sundrian; related to Old Norse sundr asunder, Gothic sundrō apart, Old High German suntar, Latin sine without

Example Sentences

The sundered ship fans out like a deck of cards then collapses, smoldering.

From New York Times

They spoke of how their community would be sundered and friendships lost, because their public school is at the center of these bonds.

From Los Angeles Times

But when the university ordered them off campus, their sense of safety was sundered.

From Los Angeles Times

And not now, as Israeli airstrikes crashed around him for the third week, erasing more of his neighborhood and sundering hundreds of families and friendships.

From Seattle Times

Although the region had been volcanically dormant for centuries, the tectonic sundering happening in the depths meant that the latest eruptions have long been in the works.

From National Geographic