asunder
English · Thesaurus
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asunder¹
- /əˈsʌndə/ UK
- /əˈsʌndəɹ/ US
Rhymes with -ʌndə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
From Middle English asunder, asonder (“apart in position, distant; apart in movement; to pieces; alone, separately; distinct in kind, different”), asondri (“distinct, separate”), onsunder, onsondre (“apart, asunder; alone, separately; especially, particularly (?)”), from Old English onsundrum, on sundur (“asunder, apart, privately”), probably from on- (prefix meaning ‘on, upon’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂en- (“on, onto”)) + sundor, sunder (“alone, apart; separately; privately”) (from Proto-West Germanic *sundr, from Proto-Germanic *sundraz (“alone, separate”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *senH- (“apart; for oneself; without”)). By surface analysis, a- (prefix meaning ‘at; in; on’ denoting a condition, manner, or state) + sunder (“(obsolete except dialectal) different; separate”).
cognates
* Danish sønder
* Dutch zonder
* Faroese sundur
* German sonder
* Gothic 𐍃𐌿𐌽𐌳𐍂𐍉 (sundrō)
* Icelandic sundur
* Norwegian Bokmål sunder, sønder
* Swedish sönder
adverb more asunder · most asunder · asundre · insunder
- Apart or separate from each other. Page. I vvarrant you, hee's the man ſhould fight vvith him. / […] [Robert] Shal[low]. It appeares ſo by his vveapons: keep them aſunder: […]
- Moving apart from each other. Our hartes ſwelled, as that they ſhoulde breake / The fire of loue, was ſo ſore kept vnder / When I from her, ſhoulde departe aſunder
- Into separate parts or pieces, often due to some violent action. to crack asunder torn asunder
- Apart from other people; individually, separately; specifically, in private, privately. […] I was of the ſame Jeſus Chriſt inſtitute: ſo this préeminence may I lawfully chalenge, that Chriſt choſe them, what tyme he was to our bodily infirmities ſubiect, but me called to be a ſondre to be his preacher, what tyme he had put of all condicions of mannes weakenes.
- Chiefly in the form to know asunder: in a manner distinguishable from other similar things. Ye summond our kynge,—why dyd ye so? / […] / Know ye not suger and salt asonder? / Your sumner to saucy, to malapert, / Your harrold in armes not yet halfe experte.
Similar: apart, asunder, half and half, in sunder, piecemeal
adjective more asunder · most asunder
- Different, unlike. Moth[er]: I cannot blame thee. / But it greeues thee more that Villaine liues. / Iul[iet]: VVhat Villaine Madame? / Moth: That Villaine Romeo. / Iul: Villaine and he are manie miles a ſunder.
asunder²
- /əˈsʌndə/ UK
- /əˈsʌndəɹ/ US
Rhymes with -ʌndə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
From Middle English asondren (“to alienate; to separate; to depart; to part company; to disappear”), from Old English asundran, āsundrian (“to disjoin; to separate; to sunder, put asunder; to sever”) (possibly influenced by onsundrum (adverb): see etymology 1), from ā- (prefix meaning ‘away; from’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *úd (“away; out”)) + sundrian (“to separate, sunder”) (from Proto-Germanic *sundrōną (“to separate, sunder”), from *sundraz (“alone, separate”) (see further at etymology 1) + *-ōną (suffix forming factitive verbs from adjectives)).
verb asunders · asundering · asundered
- To set apart (one or more people or things) from other people or things; to put asunder, to separate, to sunder. A plough beetle, ploughſtaff, to further the plough, / great clod to a ſunder that breaketh ſo rough: […]
Thesaurus
adverb
Similar: apart, asunder, half and half, in sunder, piecemeal
Translations
Every language
adv into separate parts or pieces, often due to some violent action
| Español | en dos, en pedazos |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | ばらばらに barabara ni |
| 中文 | 四分五裂 sìfēnwǔliè |
| Português | em pedaços |
| Français | en morceaux |
| Deutsch | auseinander, entzwei, in Stücke |
| Italiano | in pezzi |
| Русский | на ча́сти na části, на куски́ na kuskí, врозь vrozʹ |
| العربية | إِرْباً ʔirban |
Talk about this word "asunder." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/asunder. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. asunder. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/asunder "asunder." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/asunder.Cite this
@misc{asunder_2026,
title = {asunder},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/asunder},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
