TEARING Synonyms: 170 Similar and Opposite Words

tearing 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of tearing

as in cutting

Related Words

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tearing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of tear

as in ripping

to cause (something) to separate into jagged pieces by violently pulling at it angrily tore the letter to shreds

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in yanking

to separate or remove by forceful pulling tore the book from his hand

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

reattaching

as in hurrying

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 tearing

Adjective

This monitor rocks a zippy 165Hz refresh rate, a 1ms response time, and AMD FreeSync Premium, which effectively eliminates blur, tearing, and stuttering. — Kelsey Fogarty, PC Magazine, 26 Oct. 2026 By acting as a biomechanical bridge, soft enough for muscle, strong enough for rigid parts, the tendons eliminate the tearing and detachment problems that have plagued previous designs. — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 1 Dec. 2025

Verb

Kyrie Irving had 15 points for Dallas in his first regular-season game since tearing his left ACL in March 2025. — CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026 This is music pulled clingwrap-tight, close to tearing, around dozens of little thoughts. — Alex Robert Ross, Pitchfork, 20 Oct. 2026 Tatum will now be in his first full season after tearing his Achilles in the playoffs a couple of years ago. — David Troy Outkick, FOXNews.com, 20 Oct. 2026 See a health care provider for ongoing vulvar itching, pain, tearing or skin changes rather than repeatedly treating the symptoms as an infection. — Emily Cegielski, Flow Space, 20 Oct. 2026 All of these keep refresh rates in lockstep with the frame rates your GPU is producing, avoiding screen tearing and other blemishes. — Zackery Cuevas, PC Magazine, 15 Oct. 2026 CorneaCare’s Self Heating Warm Compresses deliver instant warmth plus hydrated minerals aimed at dryness, fatigue, tearing and puffiness. — Samantha Agate, Sacbee.com, 12 Oct. 2026 The storm began tearing through the region on Friday evening. — Erika Angulo, NBC news, 11 Oct. 2026 Sources close to the Duke of Sussex have urged the public not to judge him, but social media users are tearing him to shreds. — Allison Degrushe, StyleCaster, 9 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tearing

Adjective

There are two types of TBIs, penetrating and non-penetrating.

— Connie Etermadi, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2026
One spring day in Paris many years ago, my wife, Diana, a most penetrating photographer, capable of seeing like no one else, decided, as an experiment, to walk across the city blindfolded.

— Hisham Matar, Harper's Magazine, 2 Aug. 2024

Definition of penetrating

Verb

Other aircraft may go on to fly for other airlines, with potential carriers ripping out Spirit's tight 28-inch seat pitch for something roomier.

— Leslie Josephs, CNBC, 24 Oct. 2026
Instead, her attackers started ripping her gear off her body – her camera bag, her lenses, her pouch containing her American passport, credit cards, documents and other items.

— Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of ripping

Adjective

Her version is louder and more biting, but never at the sacrifice of the track’s spirit.

— Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 3 Oct. 2026
In 2022, Lee County’s Mosquito Control District decided to try aiming radiation at mosquitoes instead, specifically the biting, disease-carrying kind — Aedes aegypti.

— Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 21 Sep. 2026

Definition of biting

Verb

Over recent years, ambitious and headline-grabbing solutions to transportation problems have been unveiled in South Florida, from vertical jet ports to autonomous vehicles.

— Sofia Zarran, Miami Herald, 22 Oct. 2026
Bailey kicked off the Lakers’ opening night by matching her powerful voice with an equally attention-grabbing shoe.

— Karla Rodriguez, Footwear News, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of grabbing

Verb

The company said the new money will go toward hiring engineers and salespeople as well as speeding up product development.

— Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 28 Oct. 2026
The interaction stems from a traffic stop last November that resulted in Kirkpatrick being charged with five traffic citations, including reckless endangerment, speeding and eluding police, according to a report from The Tuscaloosa Thread.

— Justin Williams, New York Times, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of speeding

Adjective

Mungiu craftily plants the seed of this crisis in his opening shot, set in the aftermath of a stinging act of parental discipline.

— Justin Chang, New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2026
At an early New York screening, Douglas recalls Wall Street traders being stunned by the film’s stinging accuracy.

— Maddie Connors, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of stinging

Browse Nearby Words

tearful

tearing

tearing down

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Cite this Entry

Style

“Tearing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tearing. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of tearing

adjective

verb

Example Sentences

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Cite this Entry

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