tear apart
phrasal verb
tore apart; torn apart; tearing apart; tears apart
1
: to completely destroy (something) by tearing it into pieces
I couldn't open the box nicely, so I just tore it apart.
—often used figurativelyThe robbers tore apart the house looking for the money.
We tore the other team apart in yesterday's game.
We can't agree, and it's tearing our family apart.
2
: to criticize (someone or something) in a very harsh or angry way especially by describing weaknesses, flaws, etc.
The article tears apart the company's handling of the situation.
They tore him apart when he left.
Examples of tear apart in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Eggers counters that by deepening Ellen’s characterization, writing her as a woman more graphically torn apart by Nosferatu’s meddling and more distinctly driven to reclaim control over her own physicality and sexuality.
—
Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Dec. 2024
For its cast, the series’ themes — on political violence and a divided people, on the cost of peace and the price of corruption, on families torn apart and traumas passed from generation to generation — remain as topical as ever.
—Manuel Betancourt, Los Angeles Times, 19 Dec. 2024
Jamie's family was torn apart by the news, struggling to go on after her death.
—Amaris Encinas, USA TODAY, 18 Dec. 2024
January 2024 started with powerful storms sweeping across the southeast United States on January 8 and 9, including a tornado that tore apart the Florida Caverns RV Resort in the small community of Marianna, Florida, about an hour Northwest of Tallahassee.
—Visual Editors, USA TODAY, 20 Dec. 2024
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Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Dec. 2024
For its cast, the series’ themes — on political violence and a divided people, on the cost of peace and the price of corruption, on families torn apart and traumas passed from generation to generation — remain as topical as ever.
—Manuel Betancourt, Los Angeles Times, 19 Dec. 2024
Jamie's family was torn apart by the news, struggling to go on after her death.
—Amaris Encinas, USA TODAY, 18 Dec. 2024
January 2024 started with powerful storms sweeping across the southeast United States on January 8 and 9, including a tornado that tore apart the Florida Caverns RV Resort in the small community of Marianna, Florida, about an hour Northwest of Tallahassee.
—Visual Editors, USA TODAY, 20 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for tear apart
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Cite this Entry
“Tear apart.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tear%20apart. Accessed 2 Jan. 2025.
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