tear apart

phrasal verb

tore apart; torn apart; tearing apart; tears apart

: to completely destroy (something) by tearing it into pieces

I couldn't open the box nicely, so I just tore it apart.

—often used figuratively

The robbers tore apart the house looking for the money.

We tore the other team apart in yesterday's game.

We can't agree, and it's tearing our family apart.

: to criticize (someone or something) in a very harsh or angry way especially by describing weaknesses, flaws, etc.

The article tears apart the company's handling of the situation.

They tore him apart when he left.

Examples of tear apart in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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The first few months would be a horror show of immigrant families being torn apart and deported. —

Jay Caspian Kang, The New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2024 Hoang Ngoc Lan, 6 In Lao Cai province, the powerful storm tore apart 6-year-old Hoang Ngoc Lan's world, destroying her family's home and claiming the lives of her parents and brothers. —

Sarah Ferguson, Forbes, 24 Oct. 2024 The Category 3 storm destroyed coastal communities, tore apart homes, filled streets with mud and spawned a barrage of deadly tornadoes. —

Mae Anderson, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2024 Five bridges were razed, and 3 miles of Main Street were completely torn apart. —

Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 24 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for tear apart