rip apart

phrasal verb

ripped apart; ripping apart; rips apart

1

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

The child ripped the toy apart.

Strong winds had ripped apart many of the little beach bungalows.

—often used figuratively

a tragedy/scandal that almost ripped the family apart

2

: to criticize (someone or something) in a very harsh or angry way especially by describing weaknesses, flaws, etc.

Critics ripped the author's latest novel apart.

an article that rips apart the mayor's plan

Examples of rip apart in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Families are being ripped apart under the Trump administration in front of our eyes, hard-working people being taken away while at work or at routine immigration check-ins in an effort to meet an ambitious quota of 3,000 arrests a day. —Sigal Ratner-Arias, Billboard, 20 June 2025

As winds suddenly increased, an awning on the yacht ripped apart. —Jillian Frankel, People.com, 15 May 2025

Three years later, the final pairing in the Wells Fargo tournament wasn’t even in the clubhouse before the architecture team ripped apart the beginning stretch of the front nine. —Gabby Herzig, New York Times, 13 May 2025

Tennessee tornado cleanup faces long road to completion A strong EF-3 tornado ripped apart Selmer, Tennessee last month. —Asher Redd, FOXNews.com, 8 May 2025

Rhymes for rip apart

• counterpart
• art
• cart
• carte
• chart
• dart
• fart
• haart
• mart
• part
• smart
• start