torn

verb

Definition of tornnext
past participle of tear
1
as in ripped
to cause (something) to separate into jagged pieces by violently pulling at it angrily tore the letter to shreds

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in grabbed
to separate or remove by forceful pulling tore the book from his hand

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in sped
to proceed or move quickly she tore out of the room as soon as the phone started to ring

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of torn The Bayeux Tapestry is centuries old, torn in thousands of places, and liable to fray at the lightest touch. — John Phipps, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2026 As notions of justice, power and inequity begin to shade her peripheral vision, Maya is torn between speaking out and adhering to the moral compartmentalization that goes hand in hand with her family’s generational success. — Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026 The question has torn the festival ecosystem apart this year. — Nate Jones, Vulture, 2 Sep. 2026 The white cocoons are torn through and stained with yellow-brown secretions. — Jonathan Flint, Harpers Magazine, 1 Sep. 2026 Uncover and discard any mussels that are not open; mix in ½ cup torn basil leaves. — Claire Wadsworth, Bon Appetit Magazine, 1 Sep. 2026 Roots of trees were torn clean out of the ground in the neighborhood in front of Broadview Middle School, on streets ICE vehicles had patrolled earlier in the day. — Laura Tillman, Hartford Courant, 31 Aug. 2026 Mighty Mary sailors Annie Gardner and JJ Fetter said they were initially torn about whether to participate, as both had young children. — Madeleine Kashkooli, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Aug. 2026 Even aside from those injuries and Moody’s torn patellar tendon, the rest of the roster is far from a perfect picture of health. — Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 27 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for torn
  1. ripped
  2. grabbed
  3. sped
  4. yanked
  5. raced
  6. snatched
  7. driven
  8. pulled
Verb
  • In fact, Israel built its future wagering that the Palestinians violently displaced and expelled in the Nakba would eventually move on, assimilate, forget the depravity that ripped them from their land.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Actor Michael Rapaport ripped Macklemore as a talentless clown following the rapper’s pro-Palestinian set at MetLife Stadium.
    — Staff, FOXNews.com, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of ripped
Verb
  • Oliver grabbed a hat-trick to take his tally for the season to seven in just four games after four against Leeds United the previous week.
    — Rob Tanner, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • At 4 o’clock on a Thursday morning, Salomon Olea grabbed a packed lunch of a ham-and- cheese torta and a white peach, kissed his wife goodbye and left the home in Escondido he’s owned for nearly 30 years.
    — Audrey McGlinchy, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of grabbed
Verb
  • In June 2021, a camera helped locate a murderer, Joseph Jean, 56, who sped off after stabbing a 38-year-old woman on a sidewalk in Fort Lauderdale, the agency said.
    — Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 5 Sep. 2026
  • The research was slow at first, but more recent advances in technology — including artificial intelligence — have sped things up.
    — Pien Huang, NPR, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of sped
Verb
  • Hours later, as the couple sat in a car outside a west Fort Worth bowling alley, an unknown man yanked open the passenger door.
    — Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Sep. 2026
  • In one clip, a pair of people sit in a small box attached to a wire as they're yanked onto a platform across a river in Nuwakot, Nepal.
    — Robert McGreevy, FOXNews.com, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of yanked
Verb
  • In New York City, Special Agents Tom Armas and John Buckley -- who were at the New York Field Office at 7 World Trade Center for the annual UN General Assembly briefing -- raced into the North Tower.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 8 Sep. 2026
  • The disclosure is expected to give the public a better understanding of how the city responded following the collapse of the World Trade Center as officials raced to restabilize Lower Manhattan and reopen the area.
    — Gloria Pazmino, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of raced
Verb
  • Faria was down a break and scrambling to survive, having snatched the opening set by getting past Alcaraz’s defenses.
    — Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • As of July this year, 35,000 phones had been snatched, according to official statistics from the Met.
    — Emmet Lyons, CBS News, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of snatched
Verb
  • While that was driven by practice, time on the training pitch, cohesion and better relationships, the addition of stone-cold ability clearly helps, too.
    — Beren Cross, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026
  • If superconductivity in magic-angle graphene were primarily driven by phonons, or vibrations of the atomic lattice, weakening Coulomb interactions would be expected to leave the effect largely unchanged or even strengthen it slightly.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of driven
Verb
  • The disbelief at billowing black smoke from a gash in the Pentagon and collapsing skyscrapers of steel, the dread over what attacks might yet come, the hope that people might be pulled from the rubble alive.
    — Ann Gerhart, Washington Post, 11 Sep. 2026
  • In his absence, the documentarian created a digital avatar of the Tesla CEO and used statements pulled from decades’ worth of the entrepreneur’s interviews and public appearances.
    — Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of pulled

Browse Nearby Words

torments
torn
tornado
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Torn.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/torn. Accessed 13 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of shofar

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

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

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Popular

See More

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

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
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
funny guinea pig in glasses reading a book
Challenging Words You Should Know Vol 2 Words to the wise
See All