From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishbe tornbe torna) if you are torn, you are unable to decide what to do because you have different feelings or different things that you wantbe torn between She was torn between her love of dancing and her fear of performing in public. He was torn two ways. Jess was torn by anger and worry. b) EFFECT/INFLUENCEif a country or group is torn, it is divided because people in it have very different ideas and are arguing or fighting with each other The country was torn by civil war. She spent two months in the war-torn city. → tear
Examples from the Corpus
tear between• I was torn between altruism and self-interest.• I was torn between being an artist and being a physicist.• Theodora was torn between curiosity and irritation.• Stella was torn between getting it right and being manhandled by Meredith.• Serena is torn between her sisterly love and her annoyance with Stella's aggressive insecurity.• According to Marie Pastor, Macchio was torn between his girlfriend, Phyllis, who became his wife, and his career.• Gould was torn between the need to preserve his specimens and the desire to keep them a secret.• That way the child will not be torn between the two. 