From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishrendrend /rend/ verb (past tense and past participle rent /rent/) [transitive] literary BREAKto tear or break something violently into pieces→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
rend• The veils are parting, the mists are rent asunder.• Historically, as we have seen, the country has been rent by various upheavals, sometimes of a quite violent nature.• Above them, something gave way with a long, rending metallic screech.Origin rend Old English rendan 