tear somebody/something apart phrasal verb ( see also ↑ tear )
1 . tear something ↔ apart to cause serious arguments in a group of people SYN rip apart :
Scandal is tearing the government apart.
a row that tore the family apart
2 . literary to separate people who are in a close relationship with each other:
Nothing can tear us apart!
3 . to make someone feel extremely unhappy or upset:
Seeing her so upset really tore him apart.
4 . tear something ↔ apart to break something violently into a lot of small pieces SYN rip apart :
Her body had been torn apart by wolves.