Dictionary
Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
tear apart en · VERB
Pronunciation
Meanings
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(transitive) Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see tear, apart.
She tore her ex-boyfriend’s clothes apart in fury.
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(transitive) To destroy.
The bomb tore apart most of the town hall.
Johnny: You are lying! I never hit you! You are tearing me apart, Lisa!
2003, The Room:
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(transitive) To cause to separate suddenly or violently.
Love, love will tear us apart again
1979, Joy Division, “Love Will Tear Us Apart”:
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(figuratively, transitive) To defeat overwhelmingly.
That never looked likely and, to the Terriers' credit, they fought hard and defended well at times against a City side capable of tearing apart almost any team at any level.
2024 January 7, Gary Rose, “Manchester City 5-0 Huddersfield Town”, in BBC Sport:But Celtic could smell blood and they tore the Reds apart in the 12th minute.
2011 February 1, Keir Murray, “Aberdeen 0 - 3 Celtic”, in BBC:
Forms
Synonyms
rive · take apart