tear apart

Meanings

verbtear apart (third-person singular simple present tears apart, present participle tearing apart, simple past tore apart, past participle torn apart)

present singular third person tears apart · participle present tearing apart · past tore apart · participle past torn apart

transitiveUsed other than figuratively or idiomatically: see tear, apart.
She tore her ex-boyfriend’s clothes apart in fury.
transitiveTo destroy.
The bomb tore apart most of the town hall.
1 more example
Johnny: You are lying! I never hit you! You are tearing me apart, Lisa!
2003, The Room
transitiveTo cause to separate suddenly or violently.
Love, love will tear us apart again
1979, Joy Division, “Love Will Tear Us Apart”
Synonyms: rive
figurativelytransitiveTo defeat overwhelmingly.
But Celtic could smell blood and they tore the Reds apart in the 12th minute.
2011 February 1, Keir Murray, “Aberdeen 0 - 3 Celtic”, in BBC
1 more example
That never looked likely and, to the Terriers' credit, they fought hard and defended well at times against a City side capable of tearing apart almost any team at any level.
2024 January 7, Gary Rose, “Manchester City 5-0 Huddersfield Town”, in BBC Sport
Synonyms: take apart