as in fissure
an irregular usually narrow break in a surface created by pressure
my fishing line managed to get wedged in a cleft in the rocks
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Recent Examples of cleft
The group of four were scaling the Early Winters Spires, jagged peaks split by a cleft that is popular with climbers in the North Cascade Range, about 160 miles northeast of Seattle.
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CBS News, 14 May 2025
But today, the most important political cleft is not the fading distinction between right and left, but the rising conflict between liberal and illiberal, democratic and autocratic.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 28 Mar. 2025
Valproic acid causes birth defects that can be detected in utero such as oral clefts or spina bifida.
—Almut Winterstein, The Conversation, 30 Jan. 2025
Now that she’s become well known not only for her art and fashion, but for being a cleft advocate, speaking around the country about her experience with a cleft lip and palate, Glasses has been traveling a lot for personal appearances, which leaves precious little time for weaving.
—Booth Moore, WWD, 29 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for cleft
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cleft
Noun
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The fissure is on full display with those sharp lines in The Studio and Pluribus — shows, incidentally, from Apple, which more than any other company has normalized and cuddlified our current screen addiction.—
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As his family tries to settle into their new neighborhood, Jin’s plot creates fissures between him and his wife and daughters, as well as their white, liberal neighbor.—
Noun
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Be sure to clean in every crevice to remove residue, mold, and mildew.—
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Kardv Cordless Vacuum Cleaner This slim tool comes with a dust brush and crevice tool to target stairs, curtains, and upholstery.—
Cite this Entry
“Cleft.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cleft. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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