Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

tearing

1 American  
[teer-ing] / ˈtɪər ɪŋ /

adjective

  1. shedding tears. tear.

tearing 2 American  
[tair-ing] / ˈtɛər ɪŋ /

adjective

  1. violent or hasty.

    with tearing speed.
tearing British  
/ ˈtɛərɪŋ /

adjective

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

"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

Other Word Forms

  • tearingly adverb

Etymology

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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He hasn’t competed on tour since the 2024 British Open after tearing his Achilles last year and undergoing what was at least his seventh back surgery.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2026

News of the discovery left actor Purves, 87, tearing up after travelling to Leicester on Wednesday to attend what he believed were going to be interviews with the media about television in the 1960s.

From BBC • Mar. 12, 2026

But simply tearing down a statue or tearing down an empty building doesn’t change this underlying system.

From Salon • Mar. 6, 2026

"Butcher's Stain" tells the story of an Arab-Israeli working in a Tel Aviv supermarket who is accused of tearing down hostage posters after the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel.

From Barron's • Mar. 4, 2026

After tearing off a chunk of bread, she said, “What are you doing here?”

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

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.