tear apart

1. Upset or make distraught, as in The parents' divorce tore apart the grandparents . [Second half of 1800s]

2. Criticize severely, as in The professor tore her paper apart . [Mid-1900s]

3. Search some place completely, as in The police tore the house apart . [Second half of 1900s]

4. Separate, especially unwillingly, as in The war tore many families apart .

Related Words

• admonish 
• berate 
• castigate 
• chastise 
• chide 
• denounce 
• discipline 
• rebuff 
• rebuke 
• reprimand 
• reproach 
• scold