tear

Fetched 2026-10-30 (live).

Datamuse reports no synonyms or antonyms for this word.

Verb

To rend (a solid material) by holding or restraining in two places and pulling apart, whether intentionally or not; to destroy or separate.
- He tore his coat on the nail.
To injure as if by pulling apart.
- He tore some muscles in a weight-lifting accident.
To destroy or reduce abstract unity or coherence, such as social, political or emotional.
- He was torn by conflicting emotions.
To make (an opening) with force or energy.
- A piece of debris tore a tiny straight channel through the satellite.
- His boss will tear him a new one when he finds out.
- The artillery tore a gap in the line.
To remove by tearing, or with sudden great force.
- Tear the coupon out of the newspaper.
To demolish.
- The slums were torn down to make way for the new development.
To become torn, especially accidentally.
- My dress has torn.
To move or act with great speed, energy, or violence.
- He went tearing down the hill at 90 miles per hour.
- The tornado lingered, tearing through town, leaving nothing upright.
- He tore into the backlog of complaints.
To smash or enter something with great force.
- The chain shot tore into the approaching line of infantry.
To be interrupted midway through.
- torn write

A hole or break caused by tearing.
- A small tear is easy to mend, if it is on the seam.
A rampage.
- to go on a tear

A drop of clear, salty liquid produced from the eyes by crying or irritation.
- Big tears streamed from Lisa's eyes, rolling down her cheeks.
- Ryan wiped the tear from the paper he was crying on.
Something in the form of a transparent drop of fluid matter; also, a solid, transparent, tear-shaped drop, as of some balsams or resins.
A partially vitrified bit of clay in glass.
That which causes or accompanies tears; a lament; a dirge.

Source: Wiktionary · CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wiktionary) · cached copy, not a rewrite.