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Synonyms

tears

British  
/ tɪəz /

plural noun

  1. the clear salty solution secreted by the lacrimal glands that lubricates and cleanses the surface of the eyeball and inner surface of the eyelids

  2. a state of intense frustration (esp in the phrase bored to tears )

  3. weeping

  4. presented so as to be easily assimilated

    reading without tears
"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
tears Idioms  

  1. see bore to death (tears); burst into (tears); crocodile tears. Also see under tear.

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.

“I can help you. I can try to help you, but you have to help yourself,” Mary Cosby told her son, wiping away tears, in the devastating episode.

From Los Angeles Times

"It's something I ask myself very often," she said, wiping tears from her eyes.

From BBC

Handsome sniffed away his tears and gathered his thoughts.

From Literature

“Aw, Mama,” I said, “people aren’t going to think we’re starving to death just because I have a few holes in my britches. Every boy in the hills tears holes in his britches.”

From Literature

Frederick and Bruno fell over each other, holding their stomachs while tears streamed down their faces.

From Literature

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.