Meanings
plural ruptures
- countableuncountableA burst, split, or break.
Hatch from the egg, that soon, / Bursting with kindly rupture, forth disclosed / Their callow young.
1667, John Milton, “Book VII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC - countableuncountableA social breach or break, between individuals or groups.
He knew that policy would disincline Napoleon from a rupture with his family.
1825, Edward Everett, Claims of the United States on Naples and Holland2 more examples
Thus a war was kindled with Lubec; Denmark took part with the king's enemies, and made use of a frivolous pretence, which demonstrated the inclination of his Danish majesty to come to a rupture.
1761, The Modern Part of an Universal HistoryOur age of what Mark Carney called global rupture is also often described as following the “law of the jungle”, in which the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must, with international law shattered and multilateral organisations hollowed out.
2026 June 20, Nathalie Tocci, “Even in this age of global rupture, do not despair: there is still hope for international law”, in The Guardian, →ISSN - countableuncountablemedicineA break or tear in soft tissue, such as a muscle.
present singular third person ruptures · participle present rupturing · participle past ruptured · past ruptured
- ambitransitiveTo burst, break through, or split, as under pressure.
The cracking sound, he explained, as far as I, a non-plumber, could understand, was the sound of the overworked, undermaintained and weirdly installed heating unit’s core rupturing and spilling water into the basement.
2007 February 18, Jake Mooney, “A Case of the Shivers”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 26 Nov 2022 - intransitivebiologyTo dehisce irregularly.
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna personal or social separation (as between opposing factions)
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*Hrew-?
- Proto-Indo-European*Hrewp-
- Proto-Indo-European*Hrunépti
- Latinrumpō
- Latinruptūra
- Middle Frenchrupture
- Latinruptūra
- Englishrupture
Borrowed from Middle French rupture, or its source, Latin ruptūra (“a breaking, rupture (of a limb or vein)”) and Medieval Latin ruptūra (“a road, a field, a form of feudal tenure, a tax, etc.”), from the participle stem of rumpere (“to break, burst”). Doublet of roture.
More words from Middle French, Latin, Medieval Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic تَمَزُّق
- تَمَزُّق (tamazzuq)break in tissue
Bulgarian скъсване, разкъсване
- скъсване (skăsvane)burst or split
- разкъсване (razkăsvane)burst or split
- разрив (razriv)social break
- херния (hernija)break in tissue
- спуквам се (spukvam se)to burst, break through, or split, as under pressure
Catalan ruptura
- rupturafailure mode
Chinese Mandarin 破裂, 斷交 /断交
- 破裂 (pòliè)burst or split
- 斷交 /断交 (duànjiāo)social break
Czech prasklina, prasknutí
- prasklinaburst or split
- prasknutíburst or split
- rozkolsocial break
- roztržkasocial break
- přetrženíbreak in tissue
- prasknutíbreak in tissue
- rupturabreak in tissue
- kýlabreak in tissue
- prasknoutto burst, break through, or split, as under pressure
Finnish puhkeaminen, halkeama
- puhkeaminenburst or split
- halkeamaburst or split
- katkeaminenburst or split
- välirikkosocial break
- revähdysbreak in tissue
- venymäfailure mode
- puhjetato burst, break through, or split, as under pressure
- haljetato burst, break through, or split, as under pressure
- murtuato burst, break through, or split, as under pressure
French rupture
- ruptureburst or split
German Bruch, Bruch
- Bruchburst or split
- Bruchsocial break
- Rissbreak in tissue
- Zerreißenfailure mode
Greek κήλη
- κήλη (kíli)break in tissue
Hindi दरार
- दरार (darār)burst or split
Indonesian ruptur
- rupturbreak in tissue
Irish maidhm sheicne (of the peritoneum)
- maidhm sheicne (of the peritoneum)break in tissue
Italian rottura, rottura
- rotturaburst or split
- rotturafailure mode
Japanese 破裂
- 破裂 (haretsu)burst or split
Korean 터짐, 결렬
- 터짐 (teojim)burst or split
- 결렬 (gyeollyeol)social break
- 파단 (padan)failure mode
Latin ruptura, rāmex
- rupturaburst or split
- rāmexbreak in tissue
- ruptūrabreak in tissue
Latvian trūkt
- trūktto burst, break through, or split, as under pressure
Māori ngawhewhe
- ngawhewheto burst, break through, or split, as under pressure
Portuguese rotura, ruptura
- roturaburst or split
- rupturaburst or split
- ruturaburst or split
- rupturabreak in tissue
- romperto burst, break through, or split, as under pressure
Romanian ruptură
- rupturăburst or split
Russian разры́в, разры́в
- разры́в (razrýv)burst or split
- разры́в (razrýv)social break
- разры́в (razrýv)failure mode
- разрыва́ться (razryvátʹsja)to burst, break through, or split, as under pressure
- разорва́ться (razorvátʹsja)to burst, break through, or split, as under pressure
Spanish rotura, romper
- roturaburst or split
- romperto burst, break through, or split, as under pressure
Cite this entry
rupture. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rupture
“rupture.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rupture. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rupture,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rupture.
Source: rupture on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.