Library / English Dictionary

TEAR

Irregular inflected forms: tore    , torn   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of tearing

Example:

he took the manuscript in both hands and gave it a mighty tear

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("tear" is a kind of...):

separation (the act of dividing or disconnecting)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "tear"):

laceration (the act of lacerating)

rent; rip; split (the act of rending or ripping or splitting something)

Derivation:

tear (to separate or be separated by force)

tear (separate or cause to separate abruptly)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An occasion for excessive eating or drinking

Example:

they went on a bust that lasted three days

Synonyms:

binge; bout; bust; tear

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("tear" is a kind of...):

revel; revelry (unrestrained merrymaking)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "tear"):

piss-up (vulgar expression for a bout of heavy drinking)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A drop of the clear salty saline solution secreted by the lacrimal glands

Example:

his story brought tears to her eyes

Synonyms:

tear; teardrop

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Hypernyms ("tear" is a kind of...):

drib; driblet; drop (a small indefinite quantity (especially of a liquid))

Meronyms (substance of "tear"):

H2O; water (binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent)

Holonyms ("tear" is a part of...):

lachrymal secretion; lacrimal secretion (saline fluid secreted by lacrimal glands; lubricates the surface of the eyeball)

Derivation:

tear (fill with tears or shed tears)

Sense 4

Meaning:

An opening made forcibly as by pulling apart

Example:

she had snags in her stockings

Synonyms:

rent; rip; snag; split; tear

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Hypernyms ("tear" is a kind of...):

gap; opening (an open or empty space in or between things)

Derivation:

tear (to separate or be separated by force)

tear (separate or cause to separate abruptly)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Fill with tears or shed tears

Example:

Her eyes were tearing

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Hypernyms (to "tear" is one way to...):

cry; weep (shed tears because of sadness, rage, or pain)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

tear (a drop of the clear salty saline solution secreted by the lacrimal glands)

tearing (shedding tears)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Strip of feathers

Example:

pluck the capon

Synonyms:

deplumate; deplume; displume; pluck; pull; tear

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "tear" is one way to...):

strip (remove the surface from)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 3

Meaning:

To separate or be separated by force

Example:

planks were in danger of being torn from the crossbars

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "tear" is one way to...):

disunite; divide; part; separate (force, take, or pull apart)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "tear"):

cleave; rive; split (separate or cut with a tool, such as a sharp instrument)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

tear (the act of tearing)

tear (an opening made forcibly as by pulling apart)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Separate or cause to separate abruptly

Example:

tear the paper

Synonyms:

bust; rupture; snap; tear

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "tear" is one way to...):

disunite; divide; part; separate (force, take, or pull apart)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "tear"):

lacerate (cut or tear irregularly)

pull; rend; rip; rive (tear or be torn violently)

rip up; shred; tear up (tear into shreds)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sentence example:

They tear the sheets

Also:

tear apart (express a totally negative opinion of)

tear down (tear down so as to make flat with the ground)

tear up (tear into shreds)

Derivation:

tear (the act of tearing)

tear (an opening made forcibly as by pulling apart)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Move quickly and violently

Example:

He came charging into my office

Synonyms:

buck; charge; shoot; shoot down; tear

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "tear" is one way to...):

belt along; bucket along; cannonball along; hasten; hie; hotfoot; pelt along; race; rush; rush along; speed; step on it (move hurridly)

Verb group:

dart; dash; flash; scoot; scud; shoot (run or move very quickly or hastily)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "tear"):

rip (move precipitously or violently)

Sentence frames:

Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s PP

Credits

 Context examples: 

He took a small piece of torn paper from a note-book and spread it out upon his knee.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I feel that we are born to be connected; and those tears convince me that you feel it too, dear Fanny.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

A gland producing tears in a third eyelid in the corner of each eye, as seen in animals.

(Gland of the Third Eyelid, NCI Thesaurus)

With a united effort we tore off the coffin-lid.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

And falling on a bench, he laughed until the tears ran down his cheeks.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Tears were in Maud’s eyes, and I do believe they were for me.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Summerlee was knocked down, but we tore him up and rushed among the trunks.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Am I leaving you without a tear—without a kiss—without a word?

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Scientists using NASA's repurposed Kepler space telescope, known as the K2 mission, have uncovered strong evidence of a tiny, rocky object being torn apart as it spirals around a white dwarf star.

(K2 Finds Dead Star Vaporizing a Mini 'Planet', NASA)

Dearest niece, said my father, dry your tears.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)