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tear away

British  
/ tɛə /

verb

  1. (tr, adverb) to persuade (oneself or someone else) to leave

    I couldn't tear myself away from the television
"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

noun

    1. a reckless impetuous unruly person

    2. ( as modifier )

      a tearaway young man
"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
tear away Idioms  

  1. Remove oneself unwillingly or reluctantly, as in I couldn't tear myself away from that painting. [Late 1700s]

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.

Dressed head to toe in black she looks tough, but she fiddles with her studded choker nervously and wipes a mascara-stained tear away from her cheek.

From BBC • Jan. 25, 2024

A combination of damaged sluice gates and high water might tear away a few gates, but would not be expected to rip apart so much of the dam, the professor said.

From New York Times • Jun. 6, 2023

“You have to use your nails to carefully, gently tear away the pieces,” she said, as she creased a line down the paper with her nails.

From Salon • Jul. 15, 2018

"That always seems to tear away a few onion layers," the actor says.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 17, 2015

I wiped a tear away from the corner of my eye.

From "Red Kayak" by Priscilla Cummings

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.