These words are comparable in that they all refer to a pulling apart of a material or an object, or to the separating of two objects that are firmly bound together. Tear is the most general word in the group and has the widest application. It can denote the pulling apart of a seamless piece of material, such as cloth or paper, suggesting in this case that the edges of the resultant pieces are rough or irregular: tearing an old sheet into cleaning rags. It can refer to the damaging action of such a pulling apart: cursing under his breath when a nail tore a hole in his pants. It can be used in application to an injury or laceration: tearing her skin when picking roses. Figuratively, tear can mean to disrupt or distress: a political party torn by dissension; a sight to tear one’s heart.

Rip has special application to the division of a fabric by tearing along a line of least resistance or by cutting or breaking a row of stitches: ripping a dress apart along its seams. It can designate also any kind of tearing or cutting that is accomplished with harshness or violence: ripping open an old wound.

Rend and rive have even stronger overtones of violence than rip in their reference to a tearing , splitting or pulling apart by force: buildings rent by an earthquake; a tree riven by lightning. Figuratively, rend and rive are like tear in their application to dissension or painful affliction: a nation rent by civil war; a heart riven by despair. Today, rend and rive tend to sound lofty and poetical.