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tear

[ teer ]

/ tɪər /

noun

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.

this fluid appearing in or flowing from the eye as the result of emotion, especially grief: to shed tears.

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.

Glassmaking. a decorative air bubble enclosed in a glass vessel; air bell.

tears, grief; sorrow.

verb (used without object)

to fill up and overflow with tears, as the eyes (often followed by up): My eyes were tearing in the wind. He teared up when he heard the news.

QUIZZES

DON’T VACILLATE! VANQUISH THIS WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ!

It’d be a real faux pas to miss this quiz on the words from August 3–9, 2020!

Question 1 of 7

What does “vacillate” mean?

to waver in mind or opinion; be indecisive or irresolute.

to cause to be empty or unoccupied.

to assent tacitly; agree; consent.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms for tear

in tears, weeping: He was in tears over the death of his dog.

Origin of tear

First recorded before 900; (noun) Middle English teer, Old English tēar, tehher, taeher; cognate with Old High German zahar, Old Norse tār, Gothic tagr, Greek dákry, Latin lacrima; (verb) Middle English teren, Old English teheran, in teherende (gerund), derivative of the noun; see lachrymal

SYNONYMS FOR tear

1 teardrop.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR tear ON THESAURUS.COM

Words nearby tear

tea-of-heaven, tea party, teapot, Teapot Dome, teapoy, tear, tear apart, tear around, tear at, tearaway, tear bomb

Definition for tear (2 of 2)

tear²

[ tair ]

/ tɛər /

verb (used with object), tore or (Archaic) tare,torn or (Archaic) tare,tear·ing.

to pull apart or in pieces by force, especially so as to leave ragged or irregular edges.

to pull or snatch violently; wrench away with force: to tear wrappings from a package; to tear a book from someone's hands.

to distress greatly: anguish that tears the heart.

to divide or disrupt: a country torn by civil war.

to wound or injure by or as if by rending; lacerate.

to produce or effect by rending: to tear a hole in one's coat.

to remove by force or effort: to be unable to tear oneself from a place.

verb (used without object), tore or (Archaic) tare,torn or (Archaic) tare,tear·ing.

to become torn.

to make a tear or rent.

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

the act of tearing.

a rent or fissure.

a rage or passion; violent flurry or outburst.

Informal. a spree.

Verb Phrases

tear at,

to pluck violently at; attempt to tear: She tore at the bandages until they loosened.
to distress; afflict: remorse that tears at one's soul.

tear down,

to pull down; destroy; demolish.
to disparage or discredit: to tear down one's friends behind their backs.

tear into, Informal.

to attack impulsively and heedlessly: He tore into the food with a will.
to attack verbally: She tore into him for being late for dinner.

tear off, Slang. to perform or do, especially rapidly or casually: to tear off a poem; to tear off a set of tennis.

tear up,

to tear into small shreds: He tore up the drawings because she had criticized them.
to cancel or annul: to tear up a contract.

Origin of tear

First recorded before 900; Middle English teren (verb), Old English teran; cognate with Dutch teren, German zehren “to consume,” Gothic distairan “to destroy,” Greek dérein “to flay”

SYNONYMS FOR tear

1 rend, rip, rive.

3 break, crack, shatter, afflict.

4 disunite, split, splinter.

5 cut, mangle, slash.

12 rip, rift, rupture.

19a rip up.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR tear ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR tear

1 mend, repair, sew.

4 unite, reunite, join, bind.

SEE ANTONYMS FOR tear ON THESAURUS.COM

synonym study for tear

1. 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 WORDS FROM tear

tear·a·ble, adjectivetear·a·ble·ness, nountearer, nounun·tear·a·ble, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for tear

Sam watches her fall apart, tear herself apart and is desperate.
Grief: The Real Monster in The Babadook|Tim Teeman|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And then he went on a tear in early 2013, creating one provocation after another, seemingly every day for more than two months.
Kim Jong Un’s Kid Gloves Are Now Off|Gordon G. Chang|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As Kate was driven away, she appeared to wipe a tear from her eye.
Tearful Kate Weeps After Meeting Mother Whose Baby Died|Tom Sykes|November 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Many of those gathering in the run-up to the grand jury decision wore hockey and tear gas masks to conceal their identity.
Justice Was Served in Ferguson—This Isn’t Jim Crow America|Ron Christie|November 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Another factor was that Hungary had already become the first East European Communist country to tear down their wall.
How The Cold War Endgame Played Out In The Rubble Of The Berlin Wall|William O’Connor|November 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The thirteen-year-old brow is puckered with anguish, the child-face pale with dread, tear after tear falls from the innocent eyes.
Stories and Pictures|Isaac Loeb Peretz
What does well enough on the target at home is often quite a failure in the wear and tear of the African wilderness.
Life of Frederick Courtenay Selous, D.S.O.|J.G. Millais
Her fingers clutched at the neck of her dress, as if to tear it open, and so relieve the swelling of her throat.
Name and Fame|Adeline Sergeant
But this was more the result of worry than of physical wear and tear.
The Enemies of Women|Vicente Blasco Ibez
In threatening to tear the mote from his eye, what about a certain obstruction in mine?
The Chauffeur and the Chaperon|C. N. Williamson

British Dictionary definitions for tear (1 of 2)

tear¹

/ (tɪə) /

noun

a drop of the secretion of the lacrimal glandsSee tears

something shaped like a hanging dropa tear of amber

Also called (esp Brit): teardrop

Derived forms of tear

tearless, adjective

Word Origin for tear

Old English tēar, related to Old Frisian, Old Norse tār, Old High German zahar, Greek dakri

British Dictionary definitions for tear (2 of 2)

tear²

/ (tɛə) /

verb tears, tearing, tore or torn

to cause (material, paper, etc) to come apart or (of material, etc) to come apart; rip

(tr) to make (a hole or split) in (something)to tear a hole in a dress

(intr often foll by along) to hurry or rushto tear along the street

(tr; usually foll by away or from) to remove or take by force

(when intr, often foll by at) to cause pain, distress, or anguish (to)it tore at my heartstrings to see the starving child

tear one's hair informal to be angry, frustrated, very worried, etc

noun

a hole, cut, or split

the act of tearing

a great hurry; rush

on a tear slang showing a sudden burst of energy

See also tear away, tear down, tear into, tear off, torn

Derived forms of tear

tearable, adjectivetearer, noun

Word Origin for tear

Old English teran; related to Old Saxon terian, Gothic gatairan to destroy, Old High German zeran to destroy

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for tear (1 of 2)

tear 1¹

[ târ ]

n.

A rip or rent in a material or structure.

Medical definitions for tear (2 of 2)

tear 2²

[ tîr ]

n.

A drop of the clear salty liquid that is secreted by the lacrimal gland of the eye to lubricate the surface between the eyeball and eyelid and to wash away irritants.

Scientific definitions for tear

tear

[ tîr ]

A drop of the clear salty liquid secreted by glands (lacrimal glands) in the eyes. Tears wet the membrane covering the eye and help rid the eye of irritating substances.

Idioms and Phrases with tear

tear

In addition to the idioms beginning with tear

tear apart
tear around
tear at
tear away
tear down
tear into
tear it
tear off
tear one's hair

also see:

rip (tear) into
wear and tear

Also see undertearstorn.

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tear