tear apart

verb

tore apart; torn apart; tearing apart; tears apart

1

: 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.

2

: 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

The glass sliding door living room window broke too, and the deck outside was torn apart, the deck floor collapsing to the ground. —Forum News Service, Twin Cities, 18 Apr. 2026

The tornado tore apart homes, splintered trees, and rocketed loose limbs into the Satterfield's house. —Noel Brennan, CBS News, 14 Apr. 2026

This causes wind shear to increase, and this can tear apart nascent tropical storms and hurricanes — putting a damper on the Atlantic hurricane season. —Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 7 Apr. 2026

England were torn apart and were lucky to only lose 2-1. —Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2026

Rhymes for tear apart

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