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tear

noun

Synonyms and Antonyms of tear

a long deep cut
  • repaired a tear in the theater curtain just before the start of the show
Synonyms of tear

gash, incision, laceration, rent, rip, slash, slit
Words Related to tear

abrasion, score, scrape, scratch

injury, wound

crack, fracture, rupture, snag

tear

verb

Synonyms and Antonyms of tear

1 to cause (something) to separate into jagged pieces by violently pulling at it
  • angrily tore the letter to shreds
Synonyms of tear

rend, ribbon, rip, rive, shred, tatter
Words Related to tear

break, cleave, rupture, split

cut, gash, incise, lacerate, slash

butcher, dismember, dissect, hack, mangle
2 to separate or remove by forceful pulling
  • tore the book from his hand
Synonyms of tear

rip, wrench, wrest, yank
Words Related to tear

grab, nab, seize, snap (up), snatch

lop (off), nip

amputate, cut (off), dissever, sever

extract, force, jerk, prize, pry, pull, root (out), uproot
Near Antonyms of tear

reattach
3 to proceed or move quickly
  • she tore out of the room as soon as the phone started to ring
Synonyms of tear

barrel, belt, blast, blaze, blow, bolt, bomb [slang], bowl, breeze, bundle, bustle, buzz, cannonball, careen, career, chase, course, crack (on), dash, drive, fly, hare, hasten, hie, highball, hotfoot (it), hump, hurl, hurry, hurtle, hustle, jet, jump, motor, nip, pelt, race, ram, rip, rocket, run, rush, rustle, scoot, scurry, scuttle, shoot, speed, step, travel, trot, whirl, whisk, zip, zoom
Words Related to tear

beetle, dart, flit, scamper, scud, scuffle

stampede, streak, whiz (or whizz)

gallop, jog, sprint

accelerate, quicken, step out

catch up, fast-forward, outpace, outrun, outstrip, overtake

arrow, beeline
Phrases Synonymous with tear

beat it, get a move on, make tracks, shake a leg, step on it
Near Antonyms of tear

dally, dawdle, dillydally, drag, hang (around or out), lag, linger, loiter, poke, tarry

amble, lumber, plod, saunter, shuffle, stroll

decelerate, slow (down or up)
Antonyms of tear

crawl, creep, poke

Synonym Discussion of tear

tear, rip, rend, split, cleave, rive mean to separate forcibly. tear implies pulling apart by force and leaving jagged edges.
    • tear up the letter
rip implies a pulling apart in one rapid uninterrupted motion often along a line or joint.
    • ripped the shirt on a nail
rend implies very violent or ruthless severing or sundering.
    • an angry mob rent the prisoner's clothes
split implies a cutting or breaking apart in a continuous, straight, and usually lengthwise direction or in the direction of grain or layers.
    • split logs for firewood
cleave implies very forceful splitting or cutting with a blow.
    • a bolt of lightning cleaved the giant oak
rive occurs most often in figurative use.
    • a political party riven by conflict

Learn More about tear

  1. See words that rhyme with tear Dictionary: Definition of tear Medical Dictionary: Definition of tear Spanish Central: Translation of tear Nglish: Translation of tear for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of tear for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about tear

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