1
as in tears
to cause (something) to separate into jagged pieces by violently pulling at it
the dog ripped the sleeve of my shirt by grabbing it with his teeth
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in slits
to penetrate with a sharp edge (as a knife)
you can see where someone ripped the painting with a penknife
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in rushes
to proceed or move quickly
the car went ripping down the road
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in grabs
to separate or remove by forceful pulling
rip a sheet off the pad of paper
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in perverts
a person who has sunk below the normal moral standard
something of a rip in his youth, he eventually settled down
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rips
Kayti Burt, Time, 26 Sep. 2025
Schumer rips Trump on a near-daily basis on the Senate floor, accusing the president of being a wannabe dictator and serial liar who puts his own interests and even Russian President Vladimir Putin’s interests ahead of what’s best for the United States.
—Alexander Bolton, The Hill, 23 Sep. 2025
Inside the furnace, a reaction takes place that rips the oxygen from the silica and sticks it to the carbon from the wood.
—IEEE Spectrum, 22 Sep. 2025
Harris rips her successor for violating every rule of security and protocol with the move.
—Francesca Chambers, USA Today, 19 Sep. 2025
When enforcement rips through their communities, small businesses, with their limited margins and flexibility, are first to feel the pain.
—Javier Palomarez, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025
But Thing, who Isaac had sewn back onto his arm, regains his autonomy and rips Isaac’s heart out.
—Selome Hailu, Variety, 5 Sep. 2025
Roberts brings a jolt of invigorating fury to one of the movie’s strongest scenes, in which the mentor rips into her mentee in public on a campus square with a fully detailed character assassination.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 29 Aug. 2025
On this third-and-7 play versus Oklahoma, Nussmeier reads the entire field and rips a pinpoint strike to tight end Mason Taylor for the first down.
—Dane Brugler, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2025
Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly, 19 Sep. 2025
Knee rips and distressing, as well as a drop-sleeve denim moto jacket added some New York attitude to the collection.
—Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 18 Sep. 2025
What was once limited to grainy camcorder recordings in theaters now also includes polished Blu-ray rips hitting the internet weeks early.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 12 Sep. 2025
Stardust lived on without them, online, in YouTube rips and forum discussions.
—Brittany Spanos, Rolling Stone, 2 Sep. 2025
The old turf was so tattered and torn that concrete was visible beneath some rips.
—Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Aug. 2025
China's government’s AI push, which was announced on Tuesday, has led to absolute rips in multiple semiconductor stocks, along with technology hardware and software.
—Brendan Ahern, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Continue reading … ACTIVE INVESTIGATION – 2 killed, survivors pulled from rubble after deadly blast rips through steel plant.
—FOXNews.com, 12 Aug. 2025
See the terrifying moment destructive wind rips roof from a prison.
—Rebecca Morin, USA Today, 11 Aug. 2025
Verb
Advertisement Never one to give up, Arisu rips a piece of the grid room’s floor from its moorings and uses it to smash into the screen wall separating him from the outside.
—Kayti Burt, Time, 26 Sep. 2025
Schumer rips Trump on a near-daily basis on the Senate floor, accusing the president of being a wannabe dictator and serial liar who puts his own interests and even Russian President Vladimir Putin’s interests ahead of what’s best for the United States.
—Alexander Bolton, The Hill, 23 Sep. 2025
Inside the furnace, a reaction takes place that rips the oxygen from the silica and sticks it to the carbon from the wood.
—IEEE Spectrum, 22 Sep. 2025
Harris rips her successor for violating every rule of security and protocol with the move.
—Francesca Chambers, USA Today, 19 Sep. 2025
When enforcement rips through their communities, small businesses, with their limited margins and flexibility, are first to feel the pain.
—Javier Palomarez, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025
But Thing, who Isaac had sewn back onto his arm, regains his autonomy and rips Isaac’s heart out.
—Selome Hailu, Variety, 5 Sep. 2025
Roberts brings a jolt of invigorating fury to one of the movie’s strongest scenes, in which the mentor rips into her mentee in public on a campus square with a fully detailed character assassination.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 29 Aug. 2025
On this third-and-7 play versus Oklahoma, Nussmeier reads the entire field and rips a pinpoint strike to tight end Mason Taylor for the first down.
—Dane Brugler, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2025
Noun
Some stuffing gaped out of the rips on the back.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly, 19 Sep. 2025
Knee rips and distressing, as well as a drop-sleeve denim moto jacket added some New York attitude to the collection.
—Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 18 Sep. 2025
What was once limited to grainy camcorder recordings in theaters now also includes polished Blu-ray rips hitting the internet weeks early.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 12 Sep. 2025
Stardust lived on without them, online, in YouTube rips and forum discussions.
—Brittany Spanos, Rolling Stone, 2 Sep. 2025
The old turf was so tattered and torn that concrete was visible beneath some rips.
—Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Aug. 2025
China's government’s AI push, which was announced on Tuesday, has led to absolute rips in multiple semiconductor stocks, along with technology hardware and software.
—Brendan Ahern, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Continue reading … ACTIVE INVESTIGATION – 2 killed, survivors pulled from rubble after deadly blast rips through steel plant.
—FOXNews.com, 12 Aug. 2025
See the terrifying moment destructive wind rips roof from a prison.
—Rebecca Morin, USA Today, 11 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rips
Verb
-
The Achilles tears that the Boston Celtics' Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers suffered during the 2025 playoffs have made the race for the conference wide open this coming season.—
Robert Marvi,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 Sep. 2025
-
In this kind of system, scientists theorize that the black hole tears the neutron star apart before swallowing it, which releases electromagnetic waves.—
Chad Hanna,
The Conversation,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
In shocking footage posted on Facebook, large waves are seen breaking through the glass doors of the lobby as water rushes in and quickly floods the hotel.—
Escher Walcott,
PEOPLE,
24 Sep. 2025
-
The Rams sacked Hurts three times with rushes off Pryor’s side.—
Brooks Kubena,
New York Times,
22 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The agent then grabs Moreta-Galarza and forces her several feet down the hallway and into a wall.—
Gloria Pazmino,
CNN Money,
26 Sep. 2025
-
Jonah grabs Henry's gun and shoots him coldly in the head.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Trump, by contrast, shreds regular procedures, shrugs off the expertise needed to bring policies to life, and promotes administrative incompetence in order to eliminate any authority other than himself.—
Russell Muirhead,
Foreign Affairs,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
And Lutz ultimately slices 42-yard than slams into left upright.—
Joe Nguyen,
Denver Post,
14 Sep. 2025
-
Nominate it as one of America's Top Workplaces But the downward revision of 911,000 jobs over that 12-month period slices those gains in half.—
Andrea Riquier,
USA Today,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The older dog is shown marching along, while the puppy scurries along, attempting to match its pace.—
Soo Kim,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Sep. 2025
-
In some versions of the tale, the wolf scurries off to the forest while the three pigs live happily ever after in humble homesteads of their choice.—
Julie Gallant,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
In each Whatever After novel, a magic portal yanks the main character, Abby, out of her comfortable life and thrusts her into another reality.—
Sarah Mlynowski,
PEOPLE,
26 Sep. 2025
-
Thing rebels against his master and yanks out his clockwork heart.—
Jessica M. Goldstein,
Vulture,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Consistency builds trust and slashes audit drag.—
Jagbir Kaur,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
-
Cherry picks up a knife and slashes Laura’s tires on the way out, for good measure.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rips.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rips. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share