schism
noun
ˈsi-zəm 
ˈski-,
also ˈshi-;
among clergy usually
ˈsi- 1
: division, separation
also : discord, disharmony
a schism between political parties
2
a
: formal division in or separation from a church or religious body
b
: the offense of promoting schism
Synonyms
- conflict
- disaccord
- discord
- discordance
- discordancy
- disharmony
- dissension
- dissention
- dissent
- dissidence
- dissonance
- disunion
- disunity
- division
- friction
- infighting
- inharmony
- strife
- variance
- war
- warfare
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
a schism between leading members of the party The church was divided by schism.
Recent Examples on the Web Typical of the schism in Wisconsin, the state branches of Decoding Dyslexia and the International Dyslexia Association were in favor of the law; the state reading association was against it. 
Lelah Byron And Aimee Galaszewski, Journal Sentinel, 8 Sep. 2022 While the setting is 1923 and this intimate conflict plays out against the backdrop of cannons and gunfire heard from the Civil War raging on the mainland, McDonagh teases out the humor in the former friends’ schism. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Sep. 2022 This is a schism, another point of division for Browns fans. Doug Lesmerises, cleveland, 18 Mar. 2022 The schism is particularly pronounced between rich countries such as the U.S. and the U.K and developing nations. Jon Emont, WSJ, 29 Mar. 2021 The schism has grown only stronger as the battle among environmentalists, loggers and politicians heats up amid increasingly large and frequent wildfires. Hayley Smith, Los Angeles Times, 6 Aug. 2022 The apparent schism in the GOP is not limited to races for governor. Libby Cathey, ABC News, 18 July 2022 This obsession leads to a massive schism between him and the rest of his crew. Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, 16 June 2022 This ousting of people who had been working at Disney for their entire careers reportedly led to a schism between Rice and long-term Disney employees. Sophie Mellor, Fortune, 14 June 2022 See More
Lelah Byron And Aimee Galaszewski, Journal Sentinel, 8 Sep. 2022 While the setting is 1923 and this intimate conflict plays out against the backdrop of cannons and gunfire heard from the Civil War raging on the mainland, McDonagh teases out the humor in the former friends’ schism. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Sep. 2022 This is a schism, another point of division for Browns fans. Doug Lesmerises, cleveland, 18 Mar. 2022 The schism is particularly pronounced between rich countries such as the U.S. and the U.K and developing nations. Jon Emont, WSJ, 29 Mar. 2021 The schism has grown only stronger as the battle among environmentalists, loggers and politicians heats up amid increasingly large and frequent wildfires. Hayley Smith, Los Angeles Times, 6 Aug. 2022 The apparent schism in the GOP is not limited to races for governor. Libby Cathey, ABC News, 18 July 2022 This obsession leads to a massive schism between him and the rest of his crew. Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, 16 June 2022 This ousting of people who had been working at Disney for their entire careers reportedly led to a schism between Rice and long-term Disney employees. Sophie Mellor, Fortune, 14 June 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Middle English scisme, sisme, cisme "division in the church, dissension in belief, civil strife," borrowed from Anglo-French scisme, borrowed from Late Latin scisma, schisma "division of opinion, dissension in the church," borrowed from Greek schismat-, schísma "cleft, division, (New Testament) division of opinion," from schid-, stem of schízein "to split, separate" + -smat-, -sma, resultative noun suffix — more at shed entry 1
Note: As the spellings suggest, the Middle English and early Modern English pronunciation of this word was with initial [s] rather than [sk]. Hellenized spellings with initial sch- became general in the seventeenth century, though the old pronunciation with initial [s] has persisted until recently.
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
schism
noun
1
as in discord
a lack of agreement or harmony schism within the charitable organization was preventing it from achieving its goals Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- discord
- strife
- friction
- conflict
- war
- discordance
- dissention
- discordancy
- dissent
- warfare
- division
- disunity
- dissension
- disharmony
- dispute
- clash
- disunion
- infighting
- dissonance
- altercation
- inharmony
- hostility
- variance
- dissidence
- disagreement
- divide
- contention
- disaccord
- fissure
- quarrel
- collision
- debate
- argument
- fight
- brawl
- bicker
- animosity
- competition
- squabble
- antagonism
- enmity
- inconsistency
- tiff
- incompatibility
- rancor
- spat
- incongruity
- incongruence
- antipathy
- falling-out
- miff
- wrangle
- row
- cold war
- inconsistence
- mix-up
- ill will
- jar
- inconsonance
- incongruousness
- inharmoniousness
- scrap
- run-in
- hassle
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- agreement
- harmony
- peace
- concord
- cooperation
- accord
- concordance
- concurrence
2
as in split
the act or process of a whole separating into two or more parts or pieces the schism of the Christian church into the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches Synonyms & Similar Words
- split
- dissolution
- breakup
- division
- partition
- separation
- disunion
- bifurcation
- cleavage
- scission
- fractionalization
- sundering
- rupture
- fractionation
- polarization
- dispersion
- divorce
- decomposition
- dispersal
- breach
- subdivision
- distribution
- severance
- segregation
- dismemberment
- isolation
- segmentation
- administration
- atomization
- disassembly
- apportionment
- diffusion
- dichotomization
- seclusion
- scattering
- sequestration
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- union
- unification
- association
- connection
- assemblage
- attachment
- consolidation
- conjunction
- fusion
- linkage
- link
- aggregation
- combination
- linkup