tear apart

Idioms

Upset or make distraught, as in The parents' divorce tore apart the grandparents . [Second half of 1800s]
Criticize severely, as in The professor tore her paper apart . [Mid-1900s]
Search some place completely, as in The police tore the house apart . [Second half of 1900s]
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

Marinello said scrap yards tear apart such works into thousands of small pieces to cloak the metal’s origin.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 21, 2025

Instead, as Merry’s memo charges, the advisers simply helped Yeltsin’s people tear apart their economies.

From Slate • Dec. 23, 2024

So this feature could tear apart families is what you’re saying?

From New York Times • Jun. 14, 2024

It had teeth as long as his forearm and claws that could tear apart an oak tree.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023