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Another word for tear

a-z
Verb

  1. To separate or pull apart by force

      1. To separate, cut, or divide into two or more parts; cause to separate along the grain or length; break into layers
      2. To separate or break up through failure to agree, etc.
      3. (Slang) To depart; leave:
      1. (--- Informal) To depart; leave:
      2. To cause to function; operate:
      3. To publish in a periodical:
      1. To be or become split.
      2. To split; cleave
      3. To break into pieces, as by a blow; cleave or split asunder.
      1. To cut or tear apart roughly or vigorously
      2. To become torn or split apart.
      3. (Informal) To move with speed or violence
      1. To pierce or disturb with sound:
      2. To pull, split, or divide:
      3. To become torn or split; come apart:
    See also:

    help

    assemble

  2. To remove from a fixed position

      1. (Informal) To put into effect; carry out; perform
      2. To remove from a fixed position; extract:
      3. (Slang) To draw out (a weapon) in readiness for use:
      1. To remove or detach by grasping and pulling abruptly with the fingers; pick:
      2. To give an abrupt pull to; tug at:
      3. To pull; tug; snatch
      1. To draw or pull out, often with great force or effort:
      2. To obtain (a substance, esp. an essence or concentrate) by pressing, distilling, using a solvent, etc.
      3. To draw out by effort; pull out
    See also:

    put in

  3. To move swiftly

      1. To check or cut off the growth or development of:
      2. To take a sip or sips of alcoholic liquor:
      3. To move quickly; dart.
      1. (Slang) To proceed at great speed
      2. To move ahead at full speed.
      1. To put or pack in a barrel or barrels
      2. (Informal) To go at high speed
      3. To move or progress rapidly:
      1. To cut or tear apart roughly or vigorously
      2. To cut, tear, etc. (stitches) so as to open (a seam, hem, etc.)
      3. (Informal) To move with speed or violence
      1. (Informal) In great haste
      2. (Informal) To hurry; hasten
      3. To go in haste. Often used with it :
      1. (Computers) To cause text or other graphics in a window or frame to appear larger on the screen.
      2. To move while making such a sound:
      3. To simulate movement rapidly away from or toward a subject using a zoom lens or other optical device.
      1. (Informal) To move or propel something with speed and force
      2. To move or act with a speed that suggests such a sound:
      3. To cause to move with speed and force:
      1. To carry or transport by flying:
      2. To throw or propel (a ball, for example) through the air.
      3. To say or do (something) without preparation or forethought; improvise:
      1. To throw or spin rapidly:
      2. To move or do something quickly:
      3. To move swiftly with or as with a buzzing or hissing sound
      1. To whip (egg whites, cream, etc.)
      2. To move quickly, nimbly, or briskly
      3. To move, remove, carry, brush (away, off, out, etc.) forcefully and speedily, as with a quick, sweeping motion
      1. To move, go, drive, etc. swiftly
      2. To move rapidly in a circular manner or as in an orbit; circle swiftly
      3. To move, carry, drive, etc. with a rotating motion
      1. To cause to move at a trot.
      2. To cause to go at a trot
      3. To move quickly; hurry; run
      1. To move rapidly or at top speed for a brief period, as in running or swimming.
      2. To run or race at full speed, esp. for a short distance
      1. To increase the speed or rate of; accelerate. Often used with up:
      2. To drive at a speed exceeding a legal limit:
      3. To cause to move or proceed quickly; hasten:
      1. (--- Slang) To give, send, or hand quickly:
      2. (--- Informal) To use up or waste (time, money, etc.)
      3. (Games, Sports) To hit, kick, throw, drive, or propel (a ball, marble, etc.) toward the objective
      1. To clean things by vigorous rubbing and polishing
      2. To move swiftly; scurry.
      3. To remove as if by cleaning; sweep away; get rid of
      1. To ride on a scooter.
      2. To move or slide (something) quickly
      3. To walk fast; to go quickly; to run away hastily.
      1. (Informal) To move or proceed quickly
      2. To throw or otherwise propel (something) in a way that causes it to glide, float, or move steadily through the air
      3. (Nautical) To move across the surface of water, especially by means of a sailing vessel.
      1. (Football) To run toward (a passer or kicker) in order to block or disrupt a play.
      2. To cause to move rapidly:
      3. (Football) To run with the ball after a direct snap from the center or after a handoff or pitchout
      1. To cause to function; operate:
      2. To sew with a continuous line of stitches:
      3. (Nautical) To sail or steer before the wind or on an indicated course:
      1. To move swiftly and powerfully, as a rocket
      2. To carry by means of a rocket.
      3. To soar or rise rapidly:
      1. To move rapidly or at top speed:
      2. To cause (an engine with the gears disengaged, for example) to run swiftly or too swiftly.
      3. To enter or run (a horse, etc.) in a race
      1. To strike or assail repeatedly with thrown objects:
      2. To throw things at; strike with or as with missiles
      3. To move at a vigorous gait:
      1. To misrepresent one's skill in (a game or activity) in order to deceive someone, especially in gambling:
      2. (Slang) To get, sell, victimize, etc. by aggressive, often dishonest means
      3. To move or act energetically and rapidly:
      1. To speed the progress or completion of; expedite:
      2. To move or act with haste; move faster than is comfortable or natural
      3. To cause to move or act more rapidly or too rapidly; drive, move, send, force, or carry with haste
      1. To cause to move or act swiftly:
      2. To move in a quick fashion.
      3. To cause to be or come faster; speed up; accelerate
      1. (Rare) hasten
      2. To hasten or cause to hasten.
      1. (Baseball) To hit a fly ball.
      2. To run away from; flee from; avoid
      3. To move through the air by using wings, as a bird does
      1. (Brit., Informal) To leave quickly, as to escape creditors
      2. (Scot., North Eng.) To move to other quarters, esp. by stealth
      3. To move quickly from one condition or location to another.
      1. To move swiftly; flit; fly
      2. (Naut.) To change the position of (a rope, pulley block, etc.)
      3. To cause (time) to pass quickly.
      1. To appear or occur suddenly:
      2. To move or proceed rapidly:
      3. (Slang) To think of or remember something suddenly:
      1. To hasten.
      2. To hurry; speed
      1. To throw so as to break; smash
      2. To move swiftly or impetuously; rush
      3. To write hastily. Often used with off :
      1. To move suddenly and rapidly:
      2. To shoot (an animal, for example) with a dart, especially to inject a drug.
      3. To move suddenly and fast
      1. To hurry busily or with much fuss and bother
      2. To move or cause to move energetically and busily.
      3. To move busily and energetically with fussiness (often followed by about).
      1. (Brit.) To ride (a horse) at a fast pace
      2. To hold, carry, or put in a bucket:
      3. To move or drive rapidly or recklessly
      1. (Archaic) To shoot (an arrow, etc.)
      2. To arrange or roll (lengths of cloth, for example) on or in a bolt.
      3. To start suddenly and run away:
    Idioms:
    See also:

    move

  4. To fill with tears

    See also:

    dry

Noun

  1. A hole made by tearing

      1. The production achieved during such a period:
      2. An outdoor enclosure for domestic animals or poultry:
      3. A movement or flow:
      1. (Old, Informal) A dissolute, dissipated person
      2. Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster's Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
      3. A stretch of water in a river, estuary, or tidal channel made rough by waves meeting an opposing current.
      1. The return derived from cultivated or improved land after deduction of all production costs.
      2. An additional amount paid or accruing to the owner of an economic resource, as a tract of land, that is the result of some special or unique attribute, as a desirable location
      3. A stated return or payment for the temporary possession or use of a house, land, or other property, made, usually at fixed intervals, by the tenant or user to the owner
    See also:

    help

  2. A drinking bout

    See also:

    restraint

    drugs

  3. A drop of the clear liquid secreted by the glands of the eyes

    See also:

    dry

  4. A fit of crying.

    See also:

    sounds

Idioms:

    tear down

  1. To pull down or break up so that reconstruction is impossible

    2. tear down

  2. To make defamatory statements about

© Roget’s II: The New Thesaurus Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Another word for tear

Noun
  1. See also:

    drop

      1. A shortcoming; defect; fault; blemish
      2. (Countable) Something that makes something else less than perfect; a blemish, impurity, error, etc.
      3. (Uncountable) Those qualities or features that are imperfect; the characteristic, state, or quality of being imperfect.
      1. Injury or harm to a person or thing, resulting in a loss in soundness or value
      2. (Law) Money claimed by, or ordered paid to, a person to compensate for injury or loss caused by the wrong of the opposite party or parties
      3. (Informal) Cost; price:
      1. (Obs.) A breaking or being broken
      2. A break in friendly relations
      3. An opening made by a breakthrough, as in a wall, line of defense, etc.
      1. A part that has been cut from a main body:
      2. A movie at a given stage in its editing:
      3. A reduction:
      1. A slight narrow space:
      2. (Slang) Hard, pebblelike pieces of highly purified cocaine prepared for smoking: a highly potent and addictive form of cocaine
      3. A partial split or break; a fissure.
      1. (Anatomy) A normal groove or furrow, as in the liver or brain, that divides an organ into lobes or parts.
      2. A long narrow opening; a crack or cleft.
      3. (Medicine) A break in the skin, usually where it joins a mucous membrane, producing a cracklike sore or ulcer.
      1. An instance of breaking open or bursting:
      2. The process of breaking open or bursting.
      3. A break in friendly relations.
      1. A deep flesh wound.
      2. A long, deep cut
      1. An escape:
      2. A sudden or marked change:
      3. The result of breaking, as a crack, separation, or opening:
      1. A single thickness of hide split horizontally
      2. The feat, esp. in gymnastics, of spreading the legs apart until they lie flat on the floor, etc. in a straight line, the body remaining upright
      3. A break; fissure; crack; tear
      1. The result of lacerating; jagged tear or wound
      2. An irregular open wound caused by a blunt impact to soft tissue.
      3. A jagged wound or cut.
      1. A long, straight, narrow cut or opening.
      2. A cut or tear, esp. one that is long and straight
      1. One of the divisions of a golf course, from tee to cup.
      2. (Sports) The small pit lined with a cup into which a golf ball must be hit.
      3. An opening in or through anything; break; gap
      1. Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster's Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
      2. An extent of rough, broken water caused as by the meeting of cross currents or tides or the interaction of currents and wind
      3. A stretch of water in a river, estuary, or tidal channel made rough by waves meeting an opposing current.
      1. A hole or gap made by rending or tearing, as a torn place in cloth, a fissure in the earth, etc.
      2. An additional amount paid or accruing to the owner of an economic resource, as a tract of land, that is the result of some special or unique attribute, as a desirable location
      3. A stated return or payment for the temporary possession or use of a house, land, or other property, made, usually at fixed intervals, by the tenant or user to the owner
    Antonyms:
Verb
  1. See also:

    rend

    cut

Synonym Study

  • Rend , a somewhat literary term, implies a tearing with violence the tree was rent by a bolt of lightning
  • Rip suggests a forcible tearing, especially along a seam or in a straight line to rip a hem
  • Tear implies a pulling apart by force, so as to lacerate or leave ragged edges to tear paper wrapping
© WEBSTER’S NEW WORLD® ROGET’S A-Z THESAURUS by Charlton Laird and the editors of Webster’s New World dictionaries. Copyright © 1999 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Sentence Examples

  • A tear slipped down her cheek.

  • Her voice broke and a tear slid down her face.

  • I already knew you could tear people's heads off.

  • She blinked back a tear, but it escaped and slid down her cheek.

  • "I can't tear myself to pieces," the doctor was saying.

More sentences →

Words that mention tear in the Dictionary

Words near tear in the Thesaurus