tear apart

phrasal verb

tore apart; torn apart; tearing apart; tears apart

: to completely destroy (something) by tearing it into pieces

I couldn't open the box nicely, so I just tore it apart.

—often used figuratively

The 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.

: 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 Five bridges were razed, and 3 miles of Main Street were completely torn apart. —

Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 24 Oct. 2024 With a nation divided by the Civil War and his family torn apart, Henry puts down his pen, silenced by grief. —

EW.com, 18 Oct. 2024 After years of watching fatal drug overdoses tear apart families and communities, researchers are seeing a glimmer of hope. —

Thomas Wheatley, Axios, 7 Oct. 2024 Another North Carolina resident, Patrick McNamara, the owner of a small milk distribution business in Asheville, told CNN his business was torn apart by flood waters when the storm struck. —

Jay Croft and Isabel Rosales, CNN, 28 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for tear apart

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tear apart.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.