as in tears
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
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tatters
Verb
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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
Noun
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The film’s devastating revelations of intimate betrayals dispel nostalgia and sentiment down to the last shreds.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
26 Sep. 2025
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But Trump in his second term has discarded any remaining shreds of conservative restraint (small government?—
Christopher Bonanos,
Curbed,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
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In this melancholy-comic subversion of a rags-to-riches story Karl’s empathetic musings about those less fortunate immigrants foreshadow his subsequent downhill trajectory.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 Oct. 2025
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But in the small areas of freedom McAvoy allows himself outside the main thrust of the familiar rags-to-riches-to-regret arc there are sharp little digressions and darker shadowy corners that suggest there’s more to the film, and to McAvoy as a filmmaker, than initially meets the eye.—
Jessica Kiang,
Variety,
4 Oct. 2025
Verb
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As several women listen intently, Belushi, donning a toga, rips the guitar out of Bishop's hands and smashes it into a wall.—
Mark Gray,
PEOPLE,
5 Oct. 2025
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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
Noun
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Vets also found fragments of bullets lodged beneath the jaguar's skin.—
Moná Thomas,
PEOPLE,
7 Oct. 2025
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The mineral is much softer than shells or fossil fragments, which accounts for that unparalleled velvety texture.—
Tara Massouleh McCay,
Southern Living,
7 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The Canadiens have some other nice, underrated pieces here, too, led by Guhle, who at 23 years old could take another step if healthy all year.—
Harman Dayal,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
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They are made by chopping oat groats into smaller pieces and have a chewy texture.—
Jillian Kubala,
Health,
6 Oct. 2025
Noun
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When co-anchor Colin Jost pointed out that, per the book's lore, the clothing items mean Dobby is now free, the house elf jumped for joy — while Yang desperately clung to the fabric at his shoulders to keep it from sliding entirely off.—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 Oct. 2025
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Investigators recovered more bones, clothing and personal effects, but other than determining the remains belonged to a woman who was at least middle-aged, could not identify her, deputies said.—
Don Sweeney,
Sacbee.com,
5 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Oxygen or green material includes grass clippings, produce scraps, tea bags, and coffee grounds.—
Lauren David,
Southern Living,
27 Sep. 2025
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The researchers had shown in 2023 that parasitic scraps of DNA could spread within bacterial populations by hitching rides on the tails of infecting viruses.—
Elie Dolgin,
IEEE Spectrum,
25 Sep. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Tatters.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tatters. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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