tattering

verb

present participle of tatter
as in tearing
to cause (something) to separate into jagged pieces by violently pulling at it the little boy tattered that blanket beyond repair by repeatedly yanking on it

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tattering
  1. tearing
  2. ripping
Verb
  • Kyrie Irving had 15 points for Dallas in his first regular-season game since tearing his left ACL in March 2025.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026
  • This is music pulled clingwrap-tight, close to tearing, around dozens of little thoughts.
    — Alex Robert Ross, Pitchfork, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of tearing
Verb
  • Other aircraft may go on to fly for other airlines, with potential carriers ripping out Spirit's tight 28-inch seat pitch for something roomier.
    — Leslie Josephs, CNBC, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Instead, her attackers started ripping her gear off her body – her camera bag, her lenses, her pouch containing her American passport, credit cards, documents and other items.
    — Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of ripping
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.

Browse Nearby Words

tattered
tattering
tatters
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Tattering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tattering. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of disparate

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All