tear
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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to pull apart or in pieces by force, especially so as to leave ragged or irregular edges.
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to pull or snatch violently; wrench away with force.
to tear wrappings from a package; to tear a book from someone's hands.
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to distress greatly.
anguish that tears the heart.
- Synonyms:
- afflict, shatter, crack, break (one's) heart
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to divide or disrupt.
a country torn by civil war.
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to wound or injure by or as if by rending; lacerate.
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to produce or effect by rending.
to tear a hole in one's coat.
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to remove by force or effort.
to be unable to tear oneself from a place.
verb (used without object)
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to become torn.
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to make a tear or rent.
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to move or behave with force, violent haste, or energy.
The wind tore through the trees; cars tearing up and down the highway; I was tearing around all afternoon trying to find sandals for the beach.
noun
verb phrase
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tear off to perform or do, especially rapidly or casually.
to tear off a poem; to tear off a set of tennis.
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tear into
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to attack impulsively and heedlessly.
He tore into the food with a will.
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to attack verbally.
She tore into him for being late for dinner.
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tear down
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to pull down; destroy; demolish.
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to disparage or discredit.
to tear down one's friends behind their backs.
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tear at
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to pluck violently at; attempt to tear.
She tore at the bandages until they loosened.
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to distress; afflict.
remorse that tears at one's soul.
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tear up
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to tear into small shreds.
He tore up the drawings because she had criticized them.
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to cancel or annul.
to tear up a contract.
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idioms
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tear it, to ruin all hope; spoil everything.
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tear one's hair, to manifest extreme anxiety, grief, anger, or frustration: Also tear one's hair out.
I'm so upset, I could just tear my hair out.
noun
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a drop of the saline, watery fluid continually secreted by the lacrimal glands between the surface of the eye and the eyelid, serving to moisten and lubricate these parts and keep them clear of foreign particles.
- Synonyms:
- teardrop
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this fluid appearing in or flowing from the eye as the result of emotion, especially grief.
to shed tears.
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something resembling or suggesting a tear, as a drop of a liquid or a tearlike mass of a solid substance, especially having a spherical or globular shape at one end and tapering to a point at the other.
little tears of morning dew.
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Glassmaking. a decorative air bubble enclosed in a glass vessel; air bell.
verb (used without object)
idioms
noun
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a drop of the secretion of the lacrimal glands See tears
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something shaped like a hanging drop
a tear of amber
verb
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to cause (material, paper, etc) to come apart or (of material, etc) to come apart; rip
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(tr) to make (a hole or split) in (something)
to tear a hole in a dress
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to hurry or rush
to tear along the street
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(tr; usually foll by away or from) to remove or take by force
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to cause pain, distress, or anguish (to)
it tore at my heartstrings to see the starving child
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informal to be angry, frustrated, very worried, etc
noun
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a hole, cut, or split
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the act of tearing
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a great hurry; rush
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slang showing a sudden burst of energy
Related Words
Tear, rend, rip mean to pull apart. To tear is to split the fibers of something by pulling apart, usually so as to leave ragged or irregular edges: to tear open a letter. Rend implies force or violence in tearing apart or in pieces: to rend one's clothes in grief. Rip implies vigorous tearing asunder, especially along a seam or line: to rip the sleeves out of a coat.
Other Word Forms
- tearable adjective
- tearableness noun
- tearer noun
- tearless adjective
- untearable adjective
Etymology
Origin of tear1
First recorded before 900; Middle English verb teren, ter(e), tern, Old English teran “to tear, rend, bite, lacerate,” cognate with Dutch teren, Old High German zeran “to destroy,” German zehren “to consume,” Gothic ga-tairan “to tear, destroy,” Greek dérein “to flay, skin”
Origin of tear1
First recorded before 900; Middle English noun ter(e), Old English tēar, tēor, tehher, taeher; cognate with Old High German zahar, Old Norse tār, Gothic tagr, Greek dákry, Latin lacrima; verb derivative of the noun; lachrymal
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It had teeth as long as his forearm and claws that could tear apart an oak tree.
From Literature
The simple kindness brings tears to the corners of my eyes.
From Literature
Fighting back tears, the retired teacher explains that he only survives thanks to the money his relatives send from abroad.
From BBC
Someone instructs you to tear off pieces and dip them in the accompanying guava and plantain chutneys, silky chickpea curry and punchy pepper jelly, pooled around a peninsula of tangy cultured butter.
Boxing royalty such as Laila Ali were moved by the video, as fathers spoke of watching it in tears and young prospects said it gave them belief.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
