TEAR

v. & n. --v. (past tore; past part. torn) 1 tr. (often foll. by up) pull apart or to pieces with some force (tear it in half; tore up the letter). 2 tr. a make a hole or rent in by tearing (have torn my coat). b make (a hole or rent). 3 tr. (foll. by away, off, etc.) pull violently or with some force (tore the book away from me; tore off the cover; tore a page out; tore down the notice). 4 tr. violently disrupt or divide (the country was torn by civil war; torn by conflicting emotions). 5 intr. colloq. go or travel hurriedly or impetuously (tore across the road). 6 intr. undergo tearing (the curtain tore down the middle). 7 intr. (foll. by at etc.) pull violently or with some force. --n. 1 a hole or other damage caused by tearing. 2 a torn part of cloth etc. øbe torn between have difficulty in choosing between. tear apart 1 search (a place) exhaustively. 2 criticize forcefully. tear one's hair out behave with extreme desperation or anger. tear into 1 attack verbally; reprimand. 2 make a vigorous start on (an activity). tear oneself away leave despite a strong desire to stay. tear sheet a page that can be removed from a newspaper or magazine etc. for use separately. tear to shreds colloq. refute or criticize thoroughly. that's torn it Brit. colloq. that has spoiled things, caused a problem, etc. øøtearable adj. tearer n. [OE teran f. Gmc]