tearing

¹ American  

[teer-ing] / ˈtɪər ɪŋ /

adjective

1. shedding tears. tear.

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tearing ² American  

[tair-ing] / ˈtɛər ɪŋ /

adjective

1. violent or hasty.

   with tearing speed.

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tearing British  

/ ˈtɛərɪŋ /

adjective

1. violent or furious (esp in the phrase tearing hurry or rush )

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Other Word Forms

• tearingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of tearing¹

before 1000; Old English tæherende (not recorded in ME); tear ¹, -ing ²

Origin of tearing¹

First recorded in 1600–10; tear ² + -ing ²

Example Sentences

Now she was saying that after tearing the ACL in her other knee just nine days before the downhill race at the Milan Cortina Olympics downhill, she still planned to compete.

From The Wall Street Journal

He found humour where others might have been tearing out their hair.

From BBC

This was basically confirmed by the president’s other comments, about how the building will be “fully exposed” to its steel beams and worse, that he’ll be tearing out the marble and steel for his “renovations.”

From Salon

Dupont has not played for France since tearing his cruciate knee ligament against Ireland in March during last year's Six Nations tournament.

From Barron's

When Seattle staked its future on Darnold, however, it meant tearing up a relatively successful blueprint.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• agonizing
• chilling
• distressing
• disturbing
• excruciating
• heart-wrenching
• heartbreaking
• painful
• terrifying
• torturous
• traumatic