Word of the Day

: August 29, 2020

asunder

adverb or adjective uh-SUN-der

What It Means

1 : into parts

2 : apart from each other

asunder in Context

"Though they sip their port in close contiguity, they are poles asunder in their minds and feelings." — Anthony Trollope, The Small House at Allington, 1862

"Anna Andrews is the 'she' in the story…. As an adult, Anna's private life is in tatters, but at least she has a prestigious job as a BBC news anchor. In the space of 48 hours, even that's torn asunder." — Carole E. Barrowman, The Star Tribune (Minneapolis, Minnesota), 31 May 2020

Did You Know?

Asunder can be traced back to the Old English word sundor, meaning "apart." It is a relative of the verb sunder, which means "to break apart" or "to become parted, disunited, or severed." The "into parts" sense of asunder is often used in the phrase "tear asunder," which can be used both literally and figuratively (as in "a family torn asunder by tragedy"). The "apart from each other" sense can be found in the phrase "poles asunder," used to describe two things that are as vastly far apart as the poles of the Earth.