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

Instead, the modelling showed that a moon orbiting Venus would eventually reverse its course and spiral inward, causing it to be torn apart by the planet's gravity. — Robert Lea, Space.com, 8 Sep. 2026

Coon is torn apart when she feels compelled to leave her family behind, and again when her daughters try to intervene and retrieve her. — Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2026

Floodwaters were racing through Nepal’s Trishuli Valley, tearing apart homes, bridges and entire villages. — Shonal Ganguly, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026

Although Louisiana’s top jurist tore apart the state’s case against Duncan, the 57-year-old West Monroe native still isn’t truly free. — Richard A. Webster, ProPublica, 31 Aug. 2026

Rhymes for tear apart

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