tear apart
Idioms-
Upset or make distraught, as in The parents' divorce tore apart the grandparents . [Second half of 1800s]
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Criticize severely, as in The professor tore her paper apart . [Mid-1900s]
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Search some place completely, as in The police tore the house apart . [Second half of 1900s]
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Separate, especially unwillingly, as in The war tore many families apart .
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.
Teams just cannot cope with their pace, passing and pressing - and they continue to tear apart any team in their way.
From BBC • Jul. 9, 2025
At 3:45 a.m., a fire unit on the southern front asks if they can “order an excavator to tear apart some buildings that are partially down,” as “they’re throwing off a pretty serious ember cast.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 17, 2025
Egypt warned Israel and the U.S. that any military operations in the zone “could tear apart our peace,” a second Egyptian official said.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 25, 2024
He tried to tear apart this holographic figment of a page.
From Slate • Sep. 30, 2023
To disavow their faith, the Mexica say, would tear apart their lives.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
