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
Doctors couldn't tell her how severe the cleft would be or any other complications that may be involved with Benji's diagnosis.
—
Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 July 2025
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.
—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
Many birth defects are treatable; orofacial clefts and some heart defects, for example, can be corrected with surgery.
—Almut Winterstein, The Conversation, 30 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cleft
Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 July 2025
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.
—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
Many birth defects are treatable; orofacial clefts and some heart defects, for example, can be corrected with surgery.
—Almut Winterstein, The Conversation, 30 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cleft
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cleft
Noun
-
Eyes on the primary runoff The Democratic race doesn't feature notable policy splits along the lines of the progressive-moderate fissures that have opened around the country.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
17 Apr. 2026
-
The ledges are broken by crevices and fissures, and loose rocks of all sizes lie on them and below them.—
Dr. C. E. Kuschel,
Outdoor Life,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The tissue surrounding these small crevices also warrants your full attention.—
Michele Ross,
SELF,
22 Apr. 2026
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Factors To Consider Using boiling water works for specific situations, such as borders, crevices, and small patches as well as tiny weeds with shallow root systems.—
Lauren David,
Southern Living,
20 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cleft.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cleft. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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