tear apart

phrasal 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

Communities torn apart and lives upended by extreme weather events across the country (and the globe) feel in their bones that climate change/global warming is doing real damage to their lives and livelihoods. —Joan Michelson, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025

In the process, the land is torn apart by fierce rivals, shifting loyalties, and bloody betrayals. —Matt Grobar, Deadline, 27 June 2025

Continents aren’t torn apart without warning, and oceans certainly aren’t created out of the blue. —Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 25 June 2025

One child-sized mannequin wearing a blue sundress was torn apart by the blast of a homemade firework. —Emilie Takahashi, Oc Register, 24 June 2025

Rhymes for tear apart

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