torn
Americanverb
verb
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the past participle of tear 1
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slang an unexpected event or circumstance has upset one's plans
adjective
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split or cut
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divided or undecided, as in preference
he was torn between staying and leaving
Other Word Forms
Explanation
Torn things have been pulled apart or ripped. Things can be literally torn, like a torn piece of paper, or figuratively torn — like your torn heart when you have to take sides in a family feud. You can serve a salad full of torn lettuce leaves, or mend a stuffed animal with a torn ear. In both cases, something has been divided by force, or pulled apart. It's also possible to be emotionally torn, or conflicted between two choices, options, or people: "I'm torn between going to the party or staying home and reading my library book." Either way, torn things are difficult (and sometimes impossible) to repair.
Vocabulary lists containing torn
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.
These occur when a star passes too close to a supermassive black hole and experiences such extreme gravitational forces that it is torn apart.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
During an excavation last month, archaeologists and volunteers uncovered an 18th Century culvert that appeared to have been partly made using stone from the torn down monastery.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
Her friend and posthumous editor, Thomas Wentworth Higginson, recalled that hers seemed a “poetry torn up by the roots.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
A torn ACL could have ended the season for the second-year quarterback who missed two games last year after sustaining a concussion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
“And wave skirt,” Cassiopeia added, demonstrating with the torn curtain.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
