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Glite Dictionary
😭 Shedding tears 🔥 Very intense
tearing

tearing

7.6
Being very strong and almost violent in feeling
  • adjective
  • /ˈtɪrɪŋ/
  • Literature
translation icon : intenso
  • And what if some of those thoughts are tearing you apart?

And this is experiences this reality tearing world shifting effect.

Examples

  • And the Franco regime is still more problematic, but it is done in such a way that it's not tearing the society apart.

  • The debate over the new law was tearing the community apart, revealing deep divisions in beliefs.

  • What happens then is that this extra energy which our vacuum holds will pop up all around us, tearing everything apart.

  • Sweet dairy, I'm tearing my body apart.

  • Social media, What started as a cute way to share your brunch photos is now tearing the world apart.

  • And we need to focus on ways to do that that basically build people into coalitions rather than tearing us into different factions.

  • And who do you think you are running around leaving scars, collecting your jar of hearts and tearing love apart?

  • And This is why Donald Trump's breed of anger and tearing it all down appealed to them.

  • Her past mistakes were tearing at her heart, making it difficult for her to move forward.

  • The news of the tragedy was tearing him inside, overwhelming him with grief and sorrow.

Synonyms

violent
vstearing
  • Offensive
∞ 2.5

Using strong force that causes harm

is intense in feeling but not necessarily harmful or destructive
fierce
vstearing
220 3.0

Showing great power, anger or passion

is narrower, used only for very intense feelings or beliefs
vehement
vstearing
  • Formal
11 7.7

Showing very strong feeling that is hard to ignore

is more extreme and filled with intense fervor

Antonyms

calm
735 1.0

Not showing strong feelings and being very still

peaceful
428 1.0

Calm and quiet, without noise or trouble

Compounds

tearing down
11 4.2

An act of completely taking down a building so it no longer exists

How Intense

overwhelming
423 4.4
tearing
  • Literature
7.6
intense
573 3.7
strong
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

tearing positive

Morphology

tearing = tear (semi-transparent) = tear + ing

The adjective is formed from 'tear' + -ing, but the sense 'extremely intense/violent' is a somewhat extended use that B1 learners may not derive directly from 'tear' meaning 'cry' or 'rip'.

Etymology

Tearing in this sense comes from the verb tear which means 'to rip' or 'to rush' with great force. So a 'tearing' rage or passion is one that is very intense and violent.