From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishtear somebody/something apart phrasal verb1 tear something ↔ apartHARM/BE BAD FOR to cause serious arguments in a group of people SYN rip apart Scandal is tearing the government apart. a row that tore the family apart2 literary to separate people who are in a close relationship with each other Nothing can tear us apart!3 SAD/UNHAPPYto make someone feel extremely unhappy or upset Seeing her so upset really tore him apart.4 tear something ↔ apartPULL to break something violently into a lot of small pieces SYN rip apart Her body had been torn apart by wolves. → tear→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
tear apart• Before that you have a genetic desire to inspect everything, to tear everything apart.• I would never have believed then, that jealousy would tear us apart.• The protest was tearing Holy Trinity apart.• Reg tore this apart and produced wonderful cool refreshing water which revived us all.• It allows the vehicle to manoeuvre without tearing itself apart on the back axle.• Why tear the church apart sO you can see the priest say Mass?• Little Charlie and the Nightcats tear things apart tomorrow night.• Tigers have attacked the dummies and torn them apart without any sign of being discouraged by the sharp jolt they have received.tear something ↔ apart• Before that you have a genetic desire to inspect everything, to tear everything apart.• I would never have believed then, that jealousy would tear us apart.• The protest was tearing Holy Trinity apart.• Reg tore this apart and produced wonderful cool refreshing water which revived us all.• It allows the vehicle to manoeuvre without tearing itself apart on the back axle.• Why tear the church apart sO you can see the priest say Mass?• Little Charlie and the Nightcats tear things apart tomorrow night.• Tigers have attacked the dummies and torn them apart without any sign of being discouraged by the sharp jolt they have received.tear something ↔ apart• Before that you have a genetic desire to inspect everything, to tear everything apart.• I would never have believed then, that jealousy would tear us apart.• The protest was tearing Holy Trinity apart.• Reg tore this apart and produced wonderful cool refreshing water which revived us all.• It allows the vehicle to manoeuvre without tearing itself apart on the back axle.• Why tear the church apart sO you can see the priest say Mass?• Little Charlie and the Nightcats tear things apart tomorrow night.• Tigers have attacked the dummies and torn them apart without any sign of being discouraged by the sharp jolt they have received. 