If a loud sound rends the air, it is sudden and violent. He bellows, rends the air with anguish. see also heart-rending. to tear or break something violently into pieces
To separate into parts with force or sudden violence; to tear asunder; to split; to burst; as, powder rends a rock in blasting; lightning rends an oak
tear or be torn violently; "The curtain ripped from top to bottom"; "pull the cooked chicken into strips
To rend something means to tear it. pain that rends the heart. a twisted urge to rend and tear