tear

tear

tear¹ [ter]

vt.

tore, torn, tearing [ME teren < OE teran, to rend, akin to Ger zehren, to destroy, consume < IE base * der-, to skin, split > DRAB¹, DERMA¹]

1. to pull apart or separate into pieces by force; rip or rend (cloth, paper, etc.)

2. to make or cause by tearing or puncturing [to tear a hole in a dress]

3. to wound by tearing; lacerate [skin torn and bruised]

4. to force apart or divide into factions; disrupt; split [ranks torn by dissension]

5. to divide with doubt, uncertainty, etc.; agitate; torment [a mind torn between duty and desire]

6. to remove by or as by tearing, pulling, etc.: with up, out, away, off, etc. [to tear a plant up by its roots, to tear oneself away]

vi.

1. to be torn

2. to move violently or with speed; dash

n.

1. the act of tearing

2. the result of a tearing; torn place; rent

3. a rushing pace; great hurry

4. see WEAR AND TEAR

☆ 5. Slang a carousal; spree

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tear at

to make violent, pulling motions at in an attempt to tear or remove

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tear down

1. to wreck or demolish (a building, etc.)

2. to dismantle or take apart [to tear down an engine]

3. to cause to disintegrate

4. to controvert or disprove (an argument, etc.) point by point

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tear into

Informal to attack impetuously and, often, devastatingly

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tear it

Slang to be that which brings about final failure, defeat, frustration, loss of patience, etc. [that tears it!]

tearer

n.

SYN.- TEAR¹ implies a pulling apart by force, so as to lacerate or leave ragged edges [to tear wrapping paper ]; RIP¹ suggests a forcible tearing, especially along a seam or in a straight line [to rip a hem ]; REND, a somewhat literary term, implies a tearing with violence [the tree was rent by a bolt of lightning ]

tear² [tir]

n.

[ME tere < OE tēar, teagor, akin to Ger zähre < IE * dak̑ru, tear > OL dacrima (> L lacrima), Gr dakryon]

1. a drop of the salty fluid secreted by the lacrimal gland to lubricate the eyeball, kill bacteria, etc.: in humans, tears may flow for emotional reasons due to the tightening of muscles near the glands

2. anything resembling this, as a drop of transparent gum; tearlike mass

3. [pl.] sorrow; grief

vi.

to fill with tears

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in tears

crying; weeping