Synonyms of tears

tears 1 of 2

noun

plural of tear

as in slits

a long deep cut

repaired a tear in the theater curtain just before the start of the show

Synonyms & Similar Words

• slits
• scratches
• fractures
• injuries
• rips
• lacerations
• incisions
• wounds
• rents
• gashes
• slashes
• scrapes
• abrasions
• cracks
• scores
• ruptures
• snags

tears

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of tear

1

as in rips

to cause (something) to separate into jagged pieces by violently pulling at it

angrily tore the letter to shreds

Synonyms & Similar Words

• rips
• shreds
• rends
• ribbons
• breaks
• rives
• splits
• tatters
• cuts
• ruptures
• cleaves
• slashes
• lacerates
• incises
• gashes
• dissects
• dismembers
• hacks
• butchers
• mangles

2

as in yanks

to separate or remove by forceful pulling

tore the book from his hand

Synonyms & Similar Words

• rips
• yanks
• grabs
• snatches
• pulls
• wrenches
• snaps (up)
• cuts (off)
• wrests
• extracts
• seizes
• forces
• pries
• severs
• lops (off)
• prizes
• jerks
• uproots
• nabs
• nips
• dissevers
• roots (out)
• amputates

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• reattaches

3

as in rushes

to proceed or move quickly

she tore out of the room as soon as the phone started to ring

Synonyms & Similar Words

• rushes
• races
• speeds
• hurries
• scurries
• flies
• travels
• zips
• drives
• trots
• chases
• jumps
• rips
• blows
• runs
• buzzes
• darts
• scoots
• dashes
• steps
• bowls
• barrels
• blasts
• jogs
• whirls
• scuttles
• cracks (on)
• rams
• zooms
• breezes
• bolts
• blazes
• shoots
• jets
• rustles
• humps
• bundles
• belts
• hastens
• hustles
• hurtles
• hurls
• steps on it
• pelts
• careers
• hares
• beats it
• motors
• courses
• nips
• hies
• rockets
• bustles
• whisks
• bombs
• makes tracks
• gallops
• careens
• gets a move on
• shakes a leg
• cannonballs
• streaks
• highballs
• hotfoots (it)
• flits
• scampers
• beetles
• scuds
• sprints
• stampedes
• accelerates
• scuffles
• whizzes
• quickens
• steps out
• overtakes
• arrows
• outruns
• outstrips
• catches up
• outpaces
• fast-forwards
• beelines

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• crawls
• creeps
• drags
• pokes
• lingers
• lags
• hangs (around or out)
• pokes
• dawdles
• loiters
• shuffles
• tarries
• strolls
• slows (down or up)
• ambles
• saunters
• dallies
• plods
• decelerates
• lumbers
• dillydallies

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of tears

Noun

Saldivar wiped away tears when prosecutors played her full 911 call in court. — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2026

Her barbs are sharp enough to bring even Regina George to tears. — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 29 Sep. 2026

Wanting to reassure Genevieve that his tears were happy ones, Verlander leaned in to deliver a simple message. — Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 29 Sep. 2026

Flynn appeared emotional, wiping tears and sniffling as both the prosecution and defense delivered their closing arguments. — Nicki Brown, CNN Money, 29 Sep. 2026

Change this to a charity advertisement, and you get bombarded with hyperbolic sadness, the old people’s tears, their loneliness. — Alicja Turczyk, The Dial, 29 Sep. 2026

Inspect the door gasket for cracks, tears, or brittleness that can weaken the seal and let heat escape. — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 28 Sep. 2026

Lay sweeps the little boy into her arms; the audience dabs at tears. — Joan Kron, Allure, 28 Sep. 2026

A little research goes a long way and can save you pre- and post-boarding tears. — Kimberly Zapata, Parents, 27 Sep. 2026

Verb

Following her father’s unexpected death, Carrie enters the public high school ecosystem and is forced to navigate a viral bullying scandal that tears through her community. — Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 10 Sep. 2026

In a sense, the proof shows that a world in which love never returns is a world whose geometry tears itself apart—assuming, of course, the proof holds up. — Sam MacDonald, Scientific American, 14 Aug. 2026

Instead of wiping firmware, an adversary nudges a setpoint, edits a protection parameter, distorts a sensor feed—or shows the operator a calm screen while the equipment tears itself apart. — Julian Durand, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026

When a testicle ruptures, the tough outer covering, called the tunica albuginea, actually tears open after an extremely forceful blow. — Angela Haupt, Time, 22 July 2026

Carter further complicates things in last week’s episode, when he drunkly tears an animal mount off the wall during Oreana’s grandmother’s big party at the 10-Petal Ranch. — Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 June 2026

As an example of how his platform would work, Wehmeyer pointed to processing insurance claims after a tornado tears through a house in Minnesota. — Camila Grigera Naón, Fortune, 24 June 2026

When a battery dies, the industry routinely tears it apart to access the parts that matter. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 10 June 2026

Heavy machinery tears into the Chit Chat Cafe at the base of the Pacifica Municipal Pier, June 9, 2026. — Carlos E. Castañeda, CBS News, 9 June 2026