to tear
∞
1.0
- verb
- /tɛr/
:
romper
- The dog tried to tear the paper into pieces with its teeth.
- tear apart
- tear to pieces
- tear open
She grabbed on to me and tore the pocket off the scrubs.
- She grabbed on to me and tore the pocket off the scrubs.
- But there's also war tearing apart her world.
- Civil wars do break out and tear apart the fabric of societies.
- OK, so would you immediately tear apart Citizens United?
- The lady asked him to tear that note off on his way back.
- And I, I will not tear myself apart from the inside.
- They hate sitting on the leather and they tear it to shreds.
- They fought against all these things that were trying to tear America apart.
- Or some ranchers complain, they tear up the, the grass, they're uprooted.
- Every step tears up my heel.
- Are you trying to tear out me with words?
Examples
-
And they just they tear apart this whole comment.
-
So I had to tear apart my shop.
-
I mean, this, this will tear our country apart.
-
Nothing else can tear us apart.
-
OK, so would you immediately tear apart Citizens United?
-
It's simple, just tear, pour and live more.
-
Anger can ruin and tear apart whole nations.
-
They fought against all these things that were trying to tear America apart.
-
I've been torn apart by it.
-
But a revolutionary insurgent with popular support has only one goal: to tear down the establishment.
Academic text (2011)
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To change a large bill into smaller bills
553
4.0
To break something so it does not work
311
1.0
To break or form a narrow split in a surface
225
2.9
To badly damage or destroy something
167
2.3
Break suddenly and completely, often with a sharp noise
112
2.6
To tear something into small thin pieces
95
6.8
To break open suddenly and violently
72
2.8
To break suddenly into many small pieces, like glass
66
2.7
Separate something into smaller pieces
39
2.7
To rip something into small pieces
39
3.7
To break into small pieces or make something break apart
26
3.0
To separate into pieces, for example a machine or a group
24
4.8
To pull something out with force
21
3.2
To break something into pieces by hand
21
6.1
To badly cut, tear, or crush and cause a serious physical injury
21
3.9
To break into many small, sharp pieces like wood or glass
15
2.6
Open something like a bottle or box to get what is inside
13
2.1
To open something suddenly by force, for example a locked door or jar
12
3.0
To pull something off quickly until it rips
11
6.7
To tear something into pieces or throw it away and start again
10
8.7
To pull something apart with great force
9
9.0
To divide something into parts, often breaking a company or country
9
3.5
To break a piece from something with a quick, sharp movement
8
2.8
To tear something into small pieces
8
5.4
Break something into many small parts or hurt someone very badly
6
4.5
To pull something off quickly with force
5
4.7
To damage something very badly so it breaks into pieces
2
9.9
To tear something violently or be torn apart, often used for feelings
2
3.5
To come off a larger thing, often because of force or damage
1
9.1
To break something into pieces
To tear something into separate parts, usually by force
Pull something away suddenly with great force
To break something into many small pieces
To divide something into parts, for example by cutting it or by sharing it among people
Antonyms
Idioms
Phrasal Verbs
Compounds
17
3.0
Slow damage that happens to things like cars or furniture from normal use over time
15
3.7
A gas that makes people's eyes burn and makes them cry, used by police to break up crowds
- Specialized
A small pouch near the inner corner of the eye that collects tears before they drain into the nose
How Forceful
Surface Forms
Etymology
Tear (to pull or rip) comes from an old English verb teran meaning 'to pull apart', so to tear something is to pull it into pieces or make a rip.