SUNDER Synonyms: 84 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'sunder' distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of sunder are divide , divorce , part , separate , and sever . While all these words mean "to become or cause to become disunited or disjointed," sunder suggests violent rending or wrenching apart. // a city sundered by racial conflict

Q: When is it sensible to use 'divide' instead of 'sunder'?

The words divide and sunder can be used in similar contexts, but divide implies separating into pieces or sections by cutting or breaking. // civil war divided the nation

Q: When would 'divorce' be a good substitute for 'sunder'?

The words divorce and sunder are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, divorce implies separating two things that commonly interact and belong together. // cannot divorce scientific research from moral responsibility

Q: When can 'part' be used instead of 'sunder'?

The synonyms part and sunder are sometimes interchangeable, but part implies the separating of things or persons in close union or association. // vowed never to part

Q: When is 'separate' a more appropriate choice than 'sunder'?

Although the words separate and sunder have much in common, separate may imply any of several causes such as dispersion, removal of one from others, or presence of an intervening thing. // separated her personal life from her career

Q: Where would 'sever' be a reasonable alternative to 'sunder'?

The meanings of sever and sunder largely overlap; however, sever implies violence especially in the removal of a part or member. // a severed limb

sunder

verb

ˈsən-dər

Definition of sunder

as in to divide

to set or force apart during the cold war East and West Berlin were sundered by an impenetrable wall

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How is the word sunder distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of sunder are divide, divorce, part, separate, and sever. While all these words mean "to become or cause to become disunited or disjointed," sunder suggests violent rending or wrenching apart.

a city sundered by racial conflict

When is it sensible to use divide instead of sunder?

The words divide and sunder can be used in similar contexts, but divide implies separating into pieces or sections by cutting or breaking.

civil war divided the nation

When would divorce be a good substitute for sunder?

The words divorce and sunder are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, divorce implies separating two things that commonly interact and belong together.

cannot divorce scientific research from moral responsibility

When can part be used instead of sunder?

The synonyms part and sunder are sometimes interchangeable, but part implies the separating of things or persons in close union or association.

vowed never to part

When is separate a more appropriate choice than sunder?

Although the words separate and sunder have much in common, separate may imply any of several causes such as dispersion, removal of one from others, or presence of an intervening thing.

separated her personal life from her career

Where would sever be a reasonable alternative to sunder?

The meanings of sever and sunder largely overlap; however, sever implies violence especially in the removal of a part or member.

a severed limb

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 sunder The company has already sundered its businesses internally into two divisions ahead of a formal separation. — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 6 Nov. 2025 Others, like me, wake up in the middle of the night, their sleep sundered into two chunks. — Rowan Jacobsen, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025 Comcast and Versant won’t be completely sundered after the split, as the USGA deal demonstrates. — David Bloom, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025 How many lives have been lost, people injured, families sundered? — Kevin Sabet, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for sunder

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sunder

Verb

The case has become a national cultural fixation and a social media spectacle, gripping and dividing spectators well beyond the Massachusetts courtroom where the 36-year-old mother is charged with killing her three young children.

— Daniel Arkin, NBC news, 29 Aug. 2026
Essentially a form of computational fluid dynamics, the simulation divides the flow passages into a very large number of tiny regions and calculates things such as velocity, pressure, turbulence, and temperature throughout the component.

— Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of divide

Verb

The team analyzed the corridor over the long term and used seasonal-trend decomposition using LOESS, a statistical method that helped separate seasonal fluctuations from longer-term settlement.

— Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 29 Aug. 2026
The bridge connects two settlements in a valley in northwest Rwanda that are separated by the river.

— Fatma Tanis, NPR, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of separate

Verb

Across the Sahel region, a vast arid expanse south of the Sahara Desert, militaries that grabbed power citing security failures have severed ties with longtime Western security allies and turned to Russia.

— ABC News, ABC News, 31 Aug. 2026
Prosecutors have long suspected Burke used a chainsaw to sever Hernandez’s limbs in his garage last April and tried to collect the blood in a kiddie pool.

— James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of sever

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sundecks

sunder

sundered

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“Sunder.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sunder. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of sunder

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