Rift 是一个比较简单好记的4字母单词，通过它可以联想起不少与之结尾相同的单词来，诸如 gift, lift, sift, shift, swift, drift 等。该词源自北欧语，最早出现于14世纪初，本义是指“裂纹、裂缝、裂口”，通常表示由某种自然过程造成的断裂，包括山上岩石的裂缝以及地球表面的断裂、断陷谷、长峡谷等，

比如：

Don't trample on the tiny wild flowers growing in the rifts in the rock.不要践踏石缝中生长的小野花

进而也可以用 rift 引申指云间“缝隙”或林间“隙地”，比如云罅（a rift in the clouds）、林间隙地（a rift in a forest ）。等到了17世纪20年代后， rift 开始用来喻指人际关系等的“分歧、裂痕”，即友好关系的严重破裂或严重不和，常意味着类似于自然形成的岩石裂缝那般，起初很小但有扩大风险，

比如：

即将爆发的裂痕

a simmering rift

a growing or widening or deepening rift不断加深的分歧

mend/heal a rift between the President and the government弥合总统和政府之间的分歧

Political polarization and social rifts have made it difficult to reach a democratic consensus, and election farce and post-election chaos have become prominent features of U.S. politics.权威用例政治极化和社会撕裂导致民主共识难以达成，大选闹剧和选后乱局成为美国政治的显著特征。

出自《2022年美国侵犯人权报告》（双语全文）

crack: a line on the surface of something along which it has split without breaking apart fissure: a long, narrow opening or line of breakage made by cracking or splitting, especially in rock or earth fracture: a crack or break in a hard object or material, typically a bone or a rock stratum同近义词