to tear
∞
1.0
- verb
- /tɛr/
- The dog tried to tear the paper into pieces with its teeth.
- tear apart
- tear to pieces
- tear open
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Watch on YouTubeShe 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.
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Nothing else can tear us apart.
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OK, so would you immediately tear apart Citizens United?
-
It's simple, just tear, pour and live more.
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Anger can ruin and tear apart whole nations.
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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
532
4.0
To break something so it does not work
327
1.0
To break or form a narrow split in a surface
233
2.9
To badly damage or destroy something
162
2.7
Separate something into smaller pieces
145
2.8
To break suddenly into many small pieces, like glass
124
2.7
To rip something into small pieces
116
2.6
To tear something into small thin pieces
98
3.0
To pull something off quickly until it rips
92
6.8
To break open suddenly and violently
81
2.3
Break suddenly and completely, often with a sharp noise
77
4.8
To pull something out with force
66
2.6
Open something like a bottle or box to get what is inside
48
2.8
To tear something into small pieces
47
2.1
To open something suddenly by force, for example a locked door or jar
46
3.0
To separate into pieces, for example a machine or a group
39
3.2
To break something into pieces by hand
33
4.5
To pull something off quickly with force
27
4.7
To damage something very badly so it breaks into pieces
20
3.9
To break into many small, sharp pieces like wood or glass
18
3.7
To break into small pieces or make something break apart
18
3.5
To break a piece from something with a quick, sharp movement
14
6.1
To badly cut, tear, or crush and cause a serious physical injury
9
5.4
Break something into many small parts or hurt someone very badly
9
8.7
To pull something apart with great force
7
3.5
To come off a larger thing, often because of force or damage
6
9.0
To divide something into parts, often breaking a company or country
6
6.7
To tear something into pieces or throw it away and start again
3
9.1
To break something into pieces
2
8.3
To divide something into parts, for example by cutting it or by sharing it among people
1
9.9
Pull something away suddenly with great force
1
8.2
To break something into many small pieces
1
9.9
To tear something violently or be torn apart, often used for feelings
To tear something into separate parts, usually by force
Antonyms
Idioms
Phrasal Verbs
Compounds
61
3.7
A gas that makes people's eyes burn and makes them cry, used by police to break up crowds
20
3.0
Slow damage that happens to things like cars or furniture from normal use over time
- Specialized
1
7.2
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.