tearing 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of tearingnext
as in cutting

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tearing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of tear
1
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
2
as in yanking
to separate or remove by forceful pulling tore the book from his hand

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

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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
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
Some bystanders are later seen tearing bills in half amid the confrontation. — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 2 July 2026 Rats, cockroaches and weasels run amok, tearing through limp tent sheets and biting children and newborn babies in their sleep. — Sana Noor Haq, CNN Money, 5 July 2026 Start with a glass or fine-grit nail file for shaping without tearing the layers of the nail, and a buffer block to lightly smooth the surface. — Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Kansas City Star, 26 June 2026 The other was a tearing beauty, a creature so lovely that one look at her sent young men’s blood pressure skyward and set them to uttering wild, hoarse cries and tearing telephone directories apart with the bare hands. — John Madson, Outdoor Life, 1 July 2026 Shakespeare’s haughty Roman war hero, revered on the battlefield yet reviled by hungry plebeians, becomes the flash point in a young democracy tearing itself apart over power and sacrifice. — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026 McGregor swept the scorecards despite tearing his ACL midway through, then sat out roughly 10 months to recover. — Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 4 July 2026 That conversation completely shifted Taylor’s perspective, inspiring her to see the home's original features as something worth building around, instead of tearing out. — Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 4 July 2026 Asus Monitor Deals Asus TUF Gaming VG249Q5A Monitor This Asus 24-inch gaming monitor has a blistering 200Hz refresh rate, helping eliminate screen tearing and lag. — George Yang, PC Magazine, 3 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tearing
  1. penetrating
  2. ripping
  3. yanking
  4. hurrying
  5. biting
  6. grabbing
  7. speeding
  8. stinging
Adjective
  • 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
  • Since the war began in Gaza, more than six months ago, the Israeli magazine +972 has published some of the most penetrating reporting on the Israel Defense Forces’ conduct.
    — Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 12 Apr. 2024
Definition of penetrating
Verb
  • His second goal was even more impressive, ripping through the legs of midfielder Danilo Santos before finding the net.
    — Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 5 July 2026
  • The New York Times dropped a 5,000 word story absolutely ripping its former employee.
    — Zach Dean OutKick, FOXNews.com, 4 July 2026
Definition of ripping
Verb
  • Now, with the federal and state government yanking back plenty of that funding and directly barring the city from enacting some of its more aggressive climate plans, Higgins is left with a narrow road to tread toward progress.
    — Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 1 July 2026
  • The virtual oar-yanking celebration in a baseball atmosphere was one of those weird juxtapositions that seem to get fostered whenever a World Cup fanbase descends upon a host city.
    — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 26 June 2026
Definition of yanking
Verb
  • Set over the course of eight years (including the lockdown period during COVID), Herry’s film unfolds fluidly, neither hurrying scenes up unnecessarily, nor lingering too long on any incident.
    — Tomris Laffly, Variety, 17 May 2026
  • No point hurrying toward a resolution that was always receding.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 Apr. 2026
Definition of hurrying
Adjective
  • Described as a biting political thriller in the tradition of Wild in the Streets and V for Vendetta, The Hunted is set in a dystopian America where trans people are brutalized and erased to the margins of society.
    — Glenn Garner, Deadline, 20 June 2026
  • So Google isn’t trying to release more biting mosquitoes into neighborhoods.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 12 June 2026
Definition of biting
Verb
  • Americans are grabbing their passports and fleeing the country in hopes of leaving the nation’s problems behind.
    — Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 2 July 2026
  • Swanson argues those behind-the-scenes improvements have done more to modernize logistics than many of the industry’s headline-grabbing automation projects.
    — Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 2 July 2026
Definition of grabbing
Verb
  • Boise and Ada County have created infractions for speeding on the Greenbelt, and the city worked with Lime, a popular electric transportation company, to limit scooter speeds in parts of the city.
    — Idaho Statesman, Idaho Statesman, 3 July 2026
  • The driver, 26-year-old Saah Foiyoe, was neither speeding nor impaired, according to police.
    — Caitlin McGlade, Charlotte Observer, 3 July 2026
Definition of speeding
Adjective
  • The researchers' device aims to solve the stinging problem by physically preventing this meeting (unfortunately no images of it are available at this time).
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 30 June 2026
  • Since September of 2024, federal science agencies in the US have axed nearly 120,000 employees, in a stinging loss for public research.
    — Joe Wilkins, Futurism, 25 June 2026
Definition of stinging

Browse Nearby Words

tearful
tearing
tearing down
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Cite this Entry

“Tearing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tearing. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on tearing

Nglish: Translation of tearing for Spanish Speakers

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