tear
[verb]
Synonyms:
- rip, claw, lacerate, mangle, mutilate, pull apart, rend, rupture, scratch, shred, split
- rush, bolt, charge, dash, fly, hurry, race, run, speed, sprint, zoom
[noun]
Synonyms:
- hole, laceration, rent, rip, rupture, scratch, split

---

Related Words: cut, gash, incise, slash, slit, devil, pull (apart), rift, sever, sunder, ribbon, shred, break, crack, rupture, damage, impair, injure

---

English Thesaurus: break, smash, snap, split, fracture, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. tear¹ S3 W3 /tɪə $ tɪr/ noun

1. [countable usually plural] a drop of salty liquid that comes out of your eye when you are crying:
The children were all in tears.
She came home in floods of tears.
I could see that Sam was close to tears.
Bridget suddenly burst into tears and ran out.
He was fighting back tears as he spoke.
A lot of people were moved to tears by his story.
He kissed her cheek, a gesture that brought tears to her eyes.
I must admit I shed a few tears when the school closed.
I saw grown men reduced to tears that day.
‘Please don’t talk like that,’ Ellen implored him, her eyes filling with tears.
By this time, tears were streaming down my face.
The tears he shed were tears of joy.

2. it’ll (all) end in tears British English spoken used to warn someone that something they are doing will cause problems or arguments between people
⇒ bore somebody to tears at bore²(1), ⇒ crocodile tears at crocodile(4)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. tear² S2 W3 /teə $ ter/ verb (past tense tore /tɔː $ tɔːr/, past participle torn /tɔːn $ tɔːrn/)
[Language: Old English; Origin: teran]

1. PAPER/CLOTH
a) [transitive] to damage something such as paper or cloth by pulling it hard or letting it touch something sharp Synonym : rip:
Be careful not to tear the paper.
His clothes were old and torn.
tear something on something
She realized she had torn her jacket on a nail.
tear something off
Tear off the slip at the bottom of this page and send it back to us.
tear something out (of something)
He tore a page out of his notebook and handed it to her.
The dog had torn a huge hole in the tent.
He picked up the envelope and tore it open.
She tore the letter to pieces and threw it in the bin.
Most of her clothes had been torn to shreds.
b) [intransitive] if paper or cloth tears, it splits and a hole appears, because it has been pulled too hard or has touched something sharp:
The paper is old and tears easily.

2. MOVE QUICKLY [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] to run or drive somewhere very quickly, especially in a dangerous or careless way:
She tore back into the house.
We tore down to the hospital.
He tore off into town.

3. REMOVE SOMETHING [transitive always + adverb/preposition] to pull something violently from a person or place
tear something from somebody/something
He tore the letter from my hand.
A bridge was torn from the bank by the floodwaters.
tear something off something
High winds nearly tore the roof off the house.

4. be torn
a) if you are torn, you are unable to decide what to do because you have different feelings or different things that you want
be torn between
She was torn between her love of dancing and her fear of performing in public.
He was torn two ways.
Jess was torn by anger and worry.
b) if a country or group is torn, it is divided because people in it have very different ideas and are arguing or fighting with each other:
The country was torn by civil war.
She spent two months in the war-torn city.

5. MUSCLE [transitive] to damage a muscle or ligament:
She had torn a muscle in her leg.

6. tear loose to move violently and no longer be attached to something:
One end had torn loose.

7. tear somebody/something to shreds/pieces informal to criticize someone or something very severely:
He tore her arguments to shreds.

8. tear somebody off a strip/tear a strip off somebody British English informal to talk to someone very angrily because they have done something wrong

9. tear somebody limb from limb literary to attack someone in a very violent way

10. be tearing your hair out British English informal to feel anxious and upset because you are worried, or because you have to deal with something that is very difficult:
I’ve been tearing my hair out trying to get done in time.

11. be in a tearing hurry British English to be doing something very quickly because you are late

12. tear sb’s heart (out)/tear at sb’s heart to make someone feel extremely upset:
The thought of her out there alone tore at my heart.

13. that’s torn it! British English spoken old-fashioned used when something bad has happened that stops you from doing what you intended to do:
Oh, no, that’s torn it! I’ve left my keys in the car!

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

III. tear³ /teə $ ter/ noun [countable]
a hole in a piece of cloth or paper where it has been torn
tear in
There was a huge tear in his shirt.
⇒ wear and tear at wear²(2)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

tear1
/tie(r)/ noun
ADJ. angry, bitter, emotional There were angry tears in Lily's eyes.
burning, fresh, hot, salty, scalding Her eyes were blinded by scalding tears.
genuine, real | crocodile (figurative) (= insincere) They weep crocodile tears for the poor and disadvantaged but are basically happy with things as they are.
great, huge, large | single, solitary | silent | helpless, sudden, uncontrollable | unshed His eyes were bright with unshed tears.
VERB + TEAR cry, shed, weep She wept silent tears when she heard his name. (figurative) I won't shed any tears when Frank retires.
dry, wipe (away) I picked the little girl up and helped dry her tears. She wiped a tear from her eye.
blink/choke/fight/hold back He had to fight back tears of frustration.
break down in, burst into She broke down in tears in court.
move/reduce sb to His father's angry shouting reduced the little boy to tears.
brim/fill with His eyes filled with sudden tears.
end in (figurative) (= to have an unhappy result)
TEAR + VERB appear, brim in your eyes, brim over, come, fill your eyes, form, gather, spring into/to your eyes, start, well (up) Her tears brimmed over and fell on her cheek. He could never read the letter without tears coming to his eyes.
course/pour/roll/run/slide/trickle down sth, drip into/onto sth, fall, flow, overflow, stream A single tear rolled slowly down her cheek.
stand Tears stood in Oliver's eyes.
blur sth, cloud sth Tears blurred his vision.
burn (sth), prick (at/in) sth, sting your eyes She felt tears pricking her eyelids.
dry (up)
PREP. in ~s He came to me in tears.
through your ~s She tried to smile through her tears.
~ for He shed no tears for his lost youth.
~ of tears of happiness
~ over It turned out to be a lot of tears over nothing.
PHRASES bring tears to your eyes It brings tears to your eyes to see the children having such fun.
close/near to tears More than once I came near to tears.
a flood/floods of tears We were in floods of tears at the end of the film.
a mist of tears I saw it all through a mist of tears.
on the verge of tears, tears in your eyes, too deep for tears There are times when suffering may be too deep for tears.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

tear2
/tee(r)/ noun
VERB + TEAR have | make | mend
PREP. ~ in This sheet has a tear in it.
PHRASES wear and tear (= the damage to objects, furniture, etc. that is the result of normal use)

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

tear3
/tee(r)/ verb
ADV. badly His clothes were badly torn.
easily Careful?the fabric tears very easily.
almost, nearly The storm nearly tore the roof off.
apart, off, out, up The dogs tore the fox apart. (figurative) We tore the other team apart in the second half.
VERB + TEAR threaten to
PREP. from I tore another sheet from the pad.
off She tore the label off the suitcase.
on She tore her skirt on a nail.
out of Several pages had been torn out of the book.
PHRASES tear free/loose She tore herself free. One error and he would have been torn loose and hurled overboard by the squalling wind.
tear sth in half/two She tore the piece of paper in half.
tear sb limb from limb He threatened to tear me limb from limb.
tear sth open She tore the letter open.
tear sth to pieces/shreds (often figurative) The critics tore his last film to shreds.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

tear

be in tears (=be crying)
When Evelyn put the phone down, she was in tears.
be in floods of tears British English (=be crying a lot)
By the time she left, she was in floods of tears.
be close to/on the verge of tears (=be almost crying)
He could see that May was close to tears.
there are tears in sb’s eyes
As she watched, there were tears of joy in her eyes.
tears of joy/frustration/rage etc
The tears he shed were tears of joy.
burst into tears (=suddenly start crying)
She burst into tears and begged me to stay.
break down in tears (=suddenly start crying)
I broke down in tears when I read the letter.
be moved to tears (=be so upset that you cry)
Members of the audience were moved to tears by her singing.
bring tears to sb’s eyes (=make somebody cry)
This unexpected kindness brings tears to my eyes.
reduce somebody to tears (=make somebody cry)
His insults had reduced her to tears, but she had not changed her mind.
hold back the tears (=not cry even though you feel like crying)
She gave her version of events, often struggling to hold back the tears.
fight/choke/blink back tears (=try not to cry)
She fought back tears yesterday as she re-lived the horrors she had seen.
shed/weep tears (=cry)
Don’t shed any tears for him.
sb’s eyes fill with tears
His eyes filled with tears as he recalled his mother’s sacrifices.
tears well up in sb’s eyes (=tears come into their eyes)
She broke off, feeling the tears welling up in her eyes.
tears run/roll/stream down sb’s face
Oliver laughed until tears ran down his face.
bitter tears
She wept bitter tears of remorse for leaving her children behind.
hot tears
I felt the hot tears running down my face.
tear a hole in something
She caught her shawl on a nail and tore a hole in it.
tear something open
She tore open the envelope.
tear something to pieces/shreds
The dogs tore the meat to pieces.
tear something in two (also tear something in half)
Jack snatched the letter from him and tore it in two.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

tear
noun
BAD: All of a sudden the child burst in tears.
GOOD: All of a sudden the child burst into tears.
BAD: When the policeman had gone, she broke in tears.
GOOD: When the policeman had gone, she burst into tears.

Usage Note:
burst into tears or break down (in tears) : 'Laura burst into tears and ran out of the room.' 'She still can't talk about the war without breaking down in tears.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

break verb [transitive] to damage something and make it separate into pieces, for example by dropping it or hitting it:
Careful you don’t break the chair.
He broke his leg.
smash verb [transitive] to break something with a lot of force:
A policeman smashed his camera.
snap verb [transitive] to break something into two pieces, making a loud noise – used especially about long thin objects:
He snapped the sticks in two.
split verb [transitive] to separate something into two pieces along a straight line:
Using a sharp knife, split the melon in half.
fracture verb [transitive] to damage a bone, especially so that a line appears on the surface:
I fell over and fractured my wrist.
tear /teə $ ter/ verb [transitive] to damage paper or cloth by pulling it so that it separates into pieces:
She tore up the letter and put it in the bin.
I tore my jacket.
injury damage to part of your body caused by an accident or an attack:
The passengers were taken to hospital with minor injuries.
wound an injury, especially a deep cut in your skin made by a knife, bullet, or bomb:
He died of a gunshot wound to the head.
cut a small injury made when a sharp object cuts your skin:
Blood was running from a cut on his chin.
bruise a dark mark on your skin that you get when you fall or get hit:
Jack often comes home from playing rugby covered in bruises.
graze/scrape a small injury that marks your skin or breaks the surface slightly:
She fell off her bike and got a few grazes on her legs and knees.
gash a long deep cut:
He had a deep gash across his forehead.
bump an area of skin that is swollen because you have hit it against something:
How did you get that bump on your head?
sprain an injury to your ankle, wrist, knee etc, caused by suddenly twisting it:
It’s a slight sprain – you should rest your ankle for a week.
strain an injury to a muscle caused by stretching it or using it too much:
a muscle strain in his neck

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

break verb [transitive] to damage something and make it separate into pieces, for example by dropping it or hitting it:
Careful you don’t break the chair.
He broke his leg.
smash verb [transitive] to break something with a lot of force:
A policeman smashed his camera.
snap verb [transitive] to break something into two pieces, making a loud noise – used especially about long thin objects:
He snapped the sticks in two.
split verb [transitive] to separate something into two pieces along a straight line:
Using a sharp knife, split the melon in half.
fracture verb [transitive] to damage a bone, especially so that a line appears on the surface:
I fell over and fractured my wrist.
tear /teə $ ter/ verb [transitive] to damage paper or cloth by pulling it so that it separates into pieces:
She tore up the letter and put it in the bin.
I tore my jacket.
photograph a picture taken using a camera:
Visitors are not allowed to take photographs inside the museum.
our wedding photographs
photo informal a photograph:
a way of displaying your digital photos
Do you want me to take your photo?
picture a photograph of someone or something:
I saw her picture in the paper the other day.
This is a really good picture of Sarah.
Can I take your picture?
shot informal a photograph – used especially by people who often take photographs:
I got some great shots of Mount Fuji.
It's a lovely shot.
print a photograph that has been printed on photographic paper:
a set of 4 by 6 inch prints

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

break verb [transitive] to damage something and make it separate into pieces, for example by dropping it or hitting it:
Careful you don’t break the chair.
He broke his leg.
smash verb [transitive] to break something with a lot of force:
A policeman smashed his camera.
snap verb [transitive] to break something into two pieces, making a loud noise – used especially about long thin objects:
He snapped the sticks in two.
split verb [transitive] to separate something into two pieces along a straight line:
Using a sharp knife, split the melon in half.
fracture verb [transitive] to damage a bone, especially so that a line appears on the surface:
I fell over and fractured my wrist.
tear /teə $ ter/ verb [transitive] to damage paper or cloth by pulling it so that it separates into pieces:
She tore up the letter and put it in the bin.
I tore my jacket.
shatter verb [intransitive] to break into a lot of small pieces:
The glass shattered all over the pavement.
crack verb [intransitive] if something cracks, a line appears on the surface, which means that it could later break into separate pieces:
The ice was starting to crack.
burst verb [intransitive] if a tyre, balloon, pipe etc bursts, it gets a hole and air or liquid suddenly comes out of it:
She blew up the balloon until it burst.
crumble verb [intransitive] to break into a powder or a lot of small pieces:
The cork just crumbled in my hand.
have/take a break
After two hours, she took a break and switched on the radio.
need a break
I’m sorry, I can’t do any more - I need a break.
a short/quick break
Shall we have a quick five-minute break?
a lunch break
What time’s your lunch break?
a coffee/tea break
How about a coffee break?
a morning/afternoon break
I don’t usually have time for a morning break.
a well-earned break (=one that you deserve)
Everyone’s looking forward to a well-earned break when the exams are over.
vacation especially American English, holiday especially British English time you spend away from school or work:
Are you taking a vacation this summer?
We met on holiday in Cyprus.
What are you doing in the school holidays?
holiday a day that is set by law, when no one has to go to work or school:
the Thanksgiving holiday
New Year's Day is a national holiday.
In 2002, there was an extra public holiday to mark the Queen's golden jubilee.
the August bank holiday (=day when all the banks and shops are closed – used in British English)
leave a time when you are allowed not to work:
We get four weeks' annual leave (=paid time off work each year).
He has been taking a lot of sick leave (=time off work because you are ill) recently.
Angela is on maternity leave (= time off work when having a baby).
He was given compassionate leave (=time off work because someone close to you has died, is very ill etc) to go to his father's funeral.
sabbatical [usually singular] a period when someone, especially a teacher, stops doing their usual work in order to study or travel:
She was on sabbatical for six months.
I'm thinking of taking a sabbatical.
furlough a period of time when a soldier or someone working in another country can return to their own country as a holiday:
While on furlough, he and his girlfriend got married.
R & R (rest and relaxation) a holiday, especially one given to people in the army, navy etc after a long period of hard work or during a war:
Soldiers in Vietnam were taken to Hawaii for R & R.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

run to move very quickly, by moving your legs more quickly than when you walk:
My five-year-old son runs everywhere.
I go running twice a week.
jog to run quite slowly for exercise over a long distance:
A few people were jogging in the park.
race/dash to run somewhere as quickly as you can, especially because you have to do something urgently:
He dashed across the road to the police station.
We raced to the bus stop and got there just in time.
sprint to run as fast as you can for a short distance:
I saw the runners sprinting past.
He sprinted up the stairs.
tear to run very quickly and without really looking where you are going, because you are in a hurry:
He tore down the street and around the corner.
charge to run quickly and with a lot of energy, so that you might knock down anyone or anything that gets in your way:
They all charged out of the school gates at 4 o'clock.
Dennis charged through the door into my office.
take to your heels to start running away very quickly, especially to escape or because you are afraid:
The men took to their heels as soon as they saw the police.
leg it British English informal to run away very quickly, in order to escape from someone or something:
I legged it before the cops came.
lope especially literary to run easily with long steps – used especially about tall people with long legs:
John loped across the street to meet me.
trot to run fairly slowly, taking short steps – used especially about horses and dogs:
A little dog was trotting behind her.
gallop if a horse gallops, it runs very quickly:
The horse galloped off across the field.
bolt to suddenly run somewhere very fast, especially in order to escape:
Suddenly a fox bolted out from beneath a hedge.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

rush to move very quickly, especially because you need to be somewhere soon:
He was rushing out of his office in order to go to a meeting.
There’s no need to rush - we have plenty of time.
hurry to do something or go somewhere more quickly than usual, especially because there is not much time:
People hurried into stores to escape the rain.
You ll have to hurry or we 'll be late for breakfast
I hurried through the rest of my workout and showered as quickly as I could.
race to go somewhere as fast as you can:
She raced downstairs to tell her mother.
He raced back to his car and called for help.
tear to run very quickly and without really looking where you are going, because you are in a hurry:
I saw two boys tearing across the field towards the tree.
He tore down the stairs and out of the house.
They tore out of the building.
dash to run somewhere very fast, especially only a short distance:
Bob dashed across the road to his friend’s house.
Her heart was pumping furiously as she dashed through the kitchen to the front door.
I dashed outside to try to rescue the unfortunate creature.
hustle American English informal to hurry when you are doing something or going somewhere:
You better hustle or you’re going to miss the school bus.
hasten literary to hurry somewhere, especially because you need to do something:
Suddenly frightened, she hastened back to where her friends were standing.
She took a deep breath and then hastened after him.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

setback a problem that stops you from making progress:
The space program suffered a major setback when the space shuttle, Discovery, exploded.
snag informal a problem, especially one that you had not expected:
There’s a snag – I don’t have his number.
hitch a small problem that delays or prevents something:
There have been a few last-minute hitches.
trouble when something does not work in the way it should:
The plane developed engine trouble.
hassle spoken a situation that is annoying because it causes problems:
Just trying to store all this stuff is a hassle.
tear to damage paper or cloth by pulling it too hard, or letting it touch something sharp:
She unwrapped the present carefully, trying not to tear the paper.
I tore a hole in my jacket, climbing over the fence.
rip to tear something quickly or violently:
Beth excitedly ripped open the package.
Stop pulling my dress! You’ll rip it!
split to tear your trousers or shirt when you put them on, because they are too tight for you:
He bent down and split his trousers.
Oh no, now I’ve split my shirt.
ladder British English if a woman ladders her tights or STOCKINGS, she tears them so that a long thin line appears in them:
Damn! I’ve laddered my tights!
shred to deliberately destroy letters, documents etc by cutting them into thin pieces, often by using a special machine:
In order to prevent fraud, it’s best to shred your bank statements.
I went through all my papers shredding things I didn’t need.
frayed torn a little along the edges – used about clothes, carpets etc that have been used a lot:
He was wearing an old pair of frayed jeans.
The rug was a little frayed around the edges.
The jacket was a little frayed at the cuffs.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

tear to damage paper or cloth by pulling it too hard, or letting it touch something sharp:
She unwrapped the present carefully, trying not to tear the paper.
I tore a hole in my jacket, climbing over the fence.
rip to tear something quickly or violently:
Beth excitedly ripped open the package.
Stop pulling my dress! You’ll rip it!
split to tear your trousers or shirt when you put them on, because they are too tight for you:
He bent down and split his trousers.
Oh no, now I’ve split my shirt.
ladder British English if a woman ladders her tights or STOCKINGS, she tears them so that a long thin line appears in them:
Damn! I’ve laddered my tights!
snag to catch a piece of clothing on something rough or sharp so that it tears slightly:
I snagged my shirt on a nail.
shred to deliberately destroy letters, documents etc by cutting them into thin pieces, often by using a special machine:
In order to prevent fraud, it’s best to shred your bank statements.
I went through all my papers shredding things I didn’t need.
frayed torn a little along the edges – used about clothes, carpets etc that have been used a lot:
He was wearing an old pair of frayed jeans.
The rug was a little frayed around the edges.
The jacket was a little frayed at the cuffs.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲