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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If any of those are missing on the platform side, the acquisition will find the gap and pull on it until something tears.—
Louis Mosca,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2026 -
The Un Certain Regard best actor award went to Bradley Fiomona Dembeasset for his turn in Rafiki Fariala’s Congo Boy, playing a teen talent in the Central African Republic who dreams of a career in music as a civil war tears his country apart.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
22 May 2026
Noun
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Watching the chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation rip Tom Skerritt’s character to shreds on live TV would make for extremely spicy viewing.—
Eric Berger & Lee Hutchinson,
ArsTechnica,
31 May 2026
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Angie is made more complex inside a later version, who is bruised and angry, ready to rip any and everyone to shreds.—
David John Chávez,
Mercury News,
29 May 2026
Noun
-
This is not just another rags-to-riches story of a Black rapper on the rise.—
Murtada Elfadl,
Variety,
22 May 2026
-
There’s always a need for rags.—
Ashlyn Needham,
Southern Living,
18 May 2026
Verb
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Pollinator-friendly plants are clustered across the large property, a hedge against the next storm that rips away the canopy.—
Christopher Elliott,
Forbes.com,
23 May 2026
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Over eight episodes, the first season of Nemesis rips through more fiery events and story than most shows could in a multi-year run.—
Derek Lawrence,
HollywoodReporter,
17 May 2026
Noun
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The team is still conducting experiments to conclusively identify the green material, but the fragments strongly resemble malachite.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
1 June 2026
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Archaeologists have previously identified mudbrick and limestone burial structures, fragments of coffins, inscribed limestone blocks, and a Roman-period coin.—
Daniel Cassady,
ARTnews.com,
1 June 2026
Noun
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To design a room around books, mix them with ceramics, small pieces of art and objects to create depth.—
The Washington Post,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 May 2026
-
Housing plans Prospects for Pritzker’s ambitious package of proposals to build more housing in Illinois seemed murky Friday, though several pieces of legislation have inched forward in recent days.—
Jeremy Gorner,
Chicago Tribune,
30 May 2026
Noun
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Her father, Daniel Stein, born in Bavaria, arrived in America in 1841 at the age of eighteen to start a clothing business with his brother Solomon.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 June 2026
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Each tournament, the brick slowly fades from the courts, blown about by the wind or tracked back to the lockerroom on the shoes, socks and clothing of the players.—
Tim Newcomb,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
Noun
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The ever-expanding, replicating, and manipulating series of rooms take scraps and memories of those who pass through it, expanding into something that defies personality or ease.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
2 June 2026
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Like everything else that works here, Brie’s performance wrests the last scraps of freshness from a mode of filmmaking this movie knows is played out, but doesn’t have the particular strength to reinvent.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
2 June 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Tatters.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tatters. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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