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to tear out

to tear out

24 4.8
To pull something out with force
  • phrasal verb
  • /tɛr aʊt/
translation icon : arrancar
  • Second thing is that the table that was here, I didn't like it so I tore it out and it's currently over there.
  • tear out the page
  • tear out your hair
  • tear out your heart

Then we just go with the traditional ones and we tear those strips out.

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Examples

  • The first pitch has yet to be thrown and already Leonard Huff is tearing his hair out.

  • She decided to tear out the old pages from her notebook to make space for new notes.

  • Hey, you tore out the pages.

  • When the police returned it, there were pages torn out.

  • Together, they barrel through the soft paper wall and tear out an escape route.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • I'm going to tear these pages out.

  • If he wants it gone‚ he'll have to tear it out.

  • And you can tear that out just like you can copy and paste from Stack Overflow that.

  • He had to tear out the damaged section of the drywall before making repairs.

  • To fix the plumbing issue, they will need to tear out the floorboards in the bathroom.

Synonyms

to pull
vsto tear out
1.0

To move something toward you using force, often to remove it

is more focused on forceful removal rather than simple movement
to remove
vsto tear out
1.5

To move something or someone away from a place

adds a sense of energetic or violent extraction rather than general removal
to tear
vsto tear out
1.0

To pull something so it breaks into pieces

focuses on taking something out forcefully rather than splitting it
to take out
vsto tear out
948 1.9

To remove something from a place or container

is narrower and stresses energetic or forceful extraction
to pull out
vsto tear out
523 2.7

To take something out of a place, often with effort

is stronger, implying forceful or vigorous removal
to extract
vsto tear out
166 3.9

To remove something from somewhere, often by effort, or to get information

is less technical and more about forceful physical extraction
to pull up
vsto tear out
111 3.2

To take something out, often with effort, for example weeds or hidden facts

is more emphatic and often suggests violent or energetic effort
to rip off
vsto tear out
80 4.5

To pull something away quickly and roughly

is similar but can also apply to abstract extraction more often
to pluck
vsto tear out
77 3.5

To pull something out quickly with the fingers

is broader and can involve more force or abstract removal
to cut out
vsto tear out
77 3.2

To remove a shape from paper or cloth using scissors

relies on cutting rather than the forceful extraction implied here
to rip out
vsto tear out
68 4.4

To pull something out quickly and with force, often to remove it completely

is similar but stresses extraction sometimes in abstract contexts
to pull off
vsto tear out
41 2.7

To take something off from where it is attached

implies stronger violence or broader abstract extraction
to draw out
vsto tear out
18 3.8

Remove something from where it is, for example a nail or a secret

is more forceful and vigorous rather than careful or gradual extraction
to suck out
vsto tear out
16 4.5

Pull something out of a place by using air to draw it in

uses force by pulling rather than using suction as the method
to excise
vsto tear out
  • Formal
14 7.2

To cut out part of a body or text

is less about cutting and more about forceful pulling or extraction
to tear off
vsto tear out
12 3.0

To pull something off quickly until it rips

is broader, used for forceful removal and abstract extraction too
to rend
vsto tear out
10 8.7

To pull something apart with great force

focuses more on removing an item intact than shredding or ripping
to tear away
vsto tear out
6 4.5

To pull something off quickly with force

is used more widely for forceful removal and abstract cases
to force out
vsto tear out
6 4.2

To push something out with effort or pressure

focuses on taking something out rather than forcing outward removal
to rive
vsto tear out
9.8

To split something violently with a sharp tool

is about extracting whole items rather than splitting them apart
to revulse
vsto tear out
  • Archaic
9.9

Pull something away suddenly with great force

overlaps in violence but is more often used for taking things out

Antonyms

1.0

Include something extra to make something larger or better

208 3.5

To put something inside something else

How Forceful

to yank
196 4.1
to tear out
24 4.8
to pull out
523 2.7
to remove
1.5

Surface Forms

tear out infinitive
tearing out present participle
tears out third person singular
tore out past
torn out past participle

Morphology

tear + out

The meaning 'to remove something forcefully or with effort' is directly composed from 'tear' (to pull or rend apart) plus 'out' (away from the interior), so a learner who knows both words can infer an outward removal. This verb+particle pattern is a common, largely literal construction in English and is cross-linguistically familiar, making it transparent to a B1 learner.

Etymology

The verb tear out comes from the simple image of ripping something away—someone might tear a page out of a notebook or pull a damaged tooth out. Because it shows a strong pull, it now means 'to remove something forcefully' or 'to pull information or objects out'.