asunder

English

Alternative forms

asundre (obsolete)

Etymology

Originally two words; from Old English on (“a (preposition)”) sundran (“separate position”), from Proto-Germanic *sunder, *sundraz. Cognate with Danish sønder, Swedish sönder, Dutch zonder, German sonder, Icelandic sundur, Faroese sundur and Norwegian sunder/sønder; akin to Gothic 𐍃𐌿𐌽𐌳𐍂𐍉 (sundrō).

Pronunciation

(UK, Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /əˈsʌndə/
(US, General American) enPR: ə-sŭnʹdər, IPA^(key): /əˈsʌndɚ/
Audio (Berkshire, UK) (file)
Rhymes: -ʌndə(ɹ)
Hyphenation: asun‧der

Adverb

asunder (comparative more asunder, superlative most asunder)

(archaic, literary) Into separate parts or pieces.
Synonyms: apart, in twain
Lest anyone find her treasure, she tore the map asunder and cast its pieces into the wind.
- c. 1597, William Shakespeare, “The Merry VViues of VVindsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act III, scene i]:
  Page. I warrant you, he’s the man should fight with him.
  Robert Shallow. […] It appears so by his weapons. Keep them asunder:
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Psalms 2:3:
  Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
- 1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], OCLC 995220039, (please specify |part=I, II, III or IV), page 57:
  He desired I would stand like a Colossus, with my Legs as far asunder as I conveniently could.
- 1866, Charles Dickens, The Signal-Man‎:
  On both of those occasions, he came back to the fire with the inexplicable air upon him which I had remarked, without being able to define, when we were so far asunder.
- 1985, Kate Bush (lyrics and music), “Running Up That Hill”:
  You don't want to hurt me, but see how deep the bullet lies. Unaware that I'm tearing you asunder. There is thunder in our hearts.

Synonyms

See also Thesaurus:asunder

Derived terms

put asunder

Translations

into separate parts

Arabic: إِرْباً‎ (ʾirban)
Bulgarian: на парчета (na parčeta), на части (na časti)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 四分五裂 (zh) (sìfēnwǔliè)
Czech: na kusy
Dutch: uiteen (nl), uit elkaar, afzonderlijk (nl)
Finnish: hajalle (fi), kahtia (fi)
French: en morceaux
German: in Stücke, entzwei (de), auseinander (de)
Italian: in pezzi
Japanese: ばらばらに (ja) (barabara ni)
Occitan: en tròces m pl
Polish: na kawałki
Portuguese: em pedaços
Russian: на ча́сти (na části), на куски́ (na kuskí), врозь (ru) (vrozʹ)
Sanskrit: वि (sa) (vi)
Scottish Gaelic: air leth
Spanish: en dos, en pedazos
Swedish: sönder (sv)
Turkish: ayrı ayrı (tr), parça (tr)

Anagrams

Urendas, asundre, dauners, enduras, unreads