heal a rift

Meaning

This expression means to repair a serious disagreement, split, or division in a relationship between people, families, or groups. A 'rift' is a deep break or crack, so 'healing' it metaphorically means bringing the parties back to a state of harmony and mutual understanding.

Examples

• It took years of open communication to finally heal the rift between the two sisters.

  It took years of open communication to finally heal the rift between the two sisters.

• The peace talks aimed to heal a rift that had divided the two communities for decades.

  The peace talks aimed to heal a rift that had divided the two communities for decades.

• He reached out to his estranged father in an attempt to heal a rift.

  He reached out to his estranged father in an attempt to heal a rift.

• Sometimes, a sincere apology is all it takes to heal a rift in a friendship.

  Sometimes, a sincere apology is all it takes to heal a rift in a friendship.

• They are working hard to heal the rift caused by last year's misunderstanding.

  They are working hard to heal the rift caused by last year's misunderstanding.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ They tried to cure the rift between their families.

  ✓ They tried to heal the rift between their families.

  While 'cure' is used for illnesses or diseases, 'heal' is the correct, highly idiomatic verb paired with 'rift' to describe repairing a relationship.

• ✗ We want to heal a rift among us.

  ✓ We want to heal the rift between us.

  A 'rift' usually describes a division splitting two sides, so 'between' is the more precise and natural preposition to use.

Related Expressions

Practice

• The family reunion was a perfect opportunity to ___ that had lasted for years.

  💡 repair a deep division or disagreement

  Show answer

  heal a rift

• It's never too late to apologize and try to ___ with your old friend.

  💡 mend a broken relationship

  Show answer

  heal a rift