torn

Verb

tear (third-person singular simple present tears, present participle tearing, simple past tore, past participle torn or (now colloquial and nonstandard) tore)

1. (transitive) To rend (a solid material) by holding or restraining in two places and pulling apart, whether intentionally or not; to destroy or separate.
   • He tore his coat on the nail.
2. (transitive) To injure as if by pulling apart.
   • He tore some muscles in a weight-lifting accident.
3. (transitive) To destroy or reduce abstract unity or coherence, such as social, political or emotional.
   • He was torn by conflicting emotions.
4. (transitive) To make (an opening) with force or energy.
   • A piece of debris tore a tiny straight channel through the satellite.

   Synonyms:

   rend, rip

5. (often, transitive) To remove by tearing, or with sudden great force.
   • Tear the coupon out of the newspaper.

   Synonyms:

   rip out, tear off, tear out

6. (transitive, with-down) To demolish.
   • The slums were torn down to make way for the new development.

See all 17 meanings of tear