cleave

stick, adhere, cohere, cling, cleave mean to become closely attached.

stick implies attachment by affixing or by being glued together.

adhere is often interchangeable with stick but sometimes implies a growing together.

cohere suggests a sticking together of parts so that they form a unified mass.

cling implies attachment by hanging on with arms or tendrils.

cleave stresses strength of attachment.

tear, rip, rend, split, cleave, rive mean to separate forcibly.

tear implies pulling apart by force and leaving jagged edges.

rip implies a pulling apart in one rapid uninterrupted motion often along a line or joint.

rend implies very violent or ruthless severing or sundering.

split implies a cutting or breaking apart in a continuous, straight, and usually lengthwise direction or in the direction of grain or layers.

cleave implies very forceful splitting or cutting with a blow.

rive occurs most often in figurative use.