Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1100-1200
Origin: Past participle of rive 'to split' (12-21 centuries), from Old Norse rifa

riven

 adjective
     
riv‧en formal
1 if a group of people are riven, they are divided by disagreements, especially in a violent way
riven by/with
a community riven by religious differences
2 if an object is riven, it is divided into two or more parts
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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