tearing

¹

[teer-ing]

adjective

1. shedding tears. tear.

tearing

²

[tair-ing]

adjective

1. violent or hasty.

   with tearing speed.

tearing

/ ˈtɛərɪŋ /

adjective

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

Other Word Forms

• tearingly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of tearing¹

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

Origin of tearing²

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

Example Sentences

I can almost feel the cold of the water filling my lungs, the harshness of the current tearing me apart.

Read more on Literature

She pulled at one, but only succeeded in tearing off a leaf.

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“Can’t lose our momentum now,” he said cheerily, tearing off a bite.

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He also missed a Test in Pakistan last winter after tearing his hamstring in the summer and limped out of a match in New Zealand in December having repeated the injury.

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Beyond the immediate ends to projects, the study said that cuts would have knock-on effects by tearing down institutional capacities "painstakingly built over decades of international cooperation."

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

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• heartbreaking 
• painful 
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• torturous 
• traumatic