TEAR (tore, torn)

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: tore    , torn   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does tear mean? 

• TEAR (noun)
  The noun TEAR has 4 senses:

1. a drop of the clear salty saline solution secreted by the lacrimal glands

2. an opening made forcibly as by pulling apart

3. an occasion for excessive eating or drinking

4. the act of tearing

  Familiarity information: TEAR used as a noun is uncommon.

• TEAR (verb)
  The verb TEAR has 5 senses:

1. separate or cause to separate abruptly

2. to separate or be separated by force

3. move quickly and violently

4. strip of feathers

5. fill with tears or shed tears

  Familiarity information: TEAR used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• TEAR (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

tear; teardrop

Context example:

his story brought tears to her eyes

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 2

Meaning:

An opening made forcibly as by pulling apart

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Synonyms:

rent; rip; snag; split; tear

Context example:

she had snags in her stockings

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)

Sense 3

Meaning:

An occasion for excessive eating or drinking

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

binge; bout; bust; tear

Context example:

they went on a bust that lasted three days

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 4

Meaning:

The act of tearing

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

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

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)

• TEAR (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they tear ... he / she / it tears
Past simple: tore   
Past participle: torn   
-ing form: tearing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Separate or cause to separate abruptly

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

bust; rupture; snap; tear

Context example:

tear the paper

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 2

Meaning:

To separate or be separated by force

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

planks were in danger of being torn from the crossbars

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 3

Meaning:

Move quickly and violently

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

buck; charge; shoot; shoot down; tear

Context example:

He came charging into my office

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

Sense 4

Meaning:

Strip of feathers

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

deplumate; deplume; displume; pluck; pull; tear

Context example:

pluck the capon

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

strip (remove the surface from)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 5

Meaning:

Fill with tears or shed tears

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Context example:

Her eyes were tearing

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)

 Context examples 

Nothing further was said for a few minutes; and then speaking through her tears, she added, “I do not think I shall ever wish for a letter again!”

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

She's right, there's no time for tears now.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Whilst still asleep she took the paper from her breast and tore it in two.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Like most sungrazing comets, this comet was torn apart and vaporized by the intense forces near the sun.

(ESA, NASA’s SOHO Sees Bright Sungrazer Comet, NASA)

And the cut—a positive tear, I see.

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

Tearing or disruption of the ovarian tissue.

(Ovarian Rupture, NCI Thesaurus)

Did I not see you trying to tear off another piece?

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

I could hardly find the door, through the tears that stood in my eyes.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Contact with 1,4-dichlorobenzene can irritate the eyes, leading to burning and tearing.

(Paradichlorobenzene, NCI Thesaurus)

A disorder characterized by tearing or disruption of the ovarian tissue.

(Ovarian Rupture, NCI Thesaurus/CTCAE)