TEARING

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does tearing mean? 

• TEARING (noun)
  The noun TEARING has 1 sense:

1. shedding tears

  Familiarity information: TEARING used as a noun is very rare.

• TEARING (adjective)
  The adjective TEARING has 1 sense:

1. marked by extreme intensity of emotions or convictions; inclined to react violently; fervid

  Familiarity information: TEARING used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• TEARING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Shedding tears

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

Synonyms:

lachrymation; lacrimation; tearing; watering

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

activity; bodily function; bodily process; body process (an organic process that takes place in the body)

Derivation:

tear (fill with tears or shed tears)

• TEARING (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Marked by extreme intensity of emotions or convictions; inclined to react violently; fervid

Synonyms:

fierce; tearing; trigger-happy; vehement; violent

Context example:

violent passions

Similar:

intense (possessing or displaying a distinctive feature to a heightened degree)

 Context examples 

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)

Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale (COWS) Runny nose or tearing.

(COWS - Runny Nose or Tearing, NCI Thesaurus)

He paused in the act of tearing the envelope open.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

He was fighting, tearing at a live thing that was striking at him.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

“It's false,” she cried, tearing her black hair; “I loved him!”

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

In a tearing hurry, Yours ever, Laurie.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

He walked up to the sideboard, and tearing a piece from the loaf he devoured it voraciously, washing it down with a long draught of water.

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

Self-inflicted tearing or wearing off of skin.

(Excoriation, NCI Thesaurus)

They can range from mild to severe and include: • Twitching • Weakness • Paralysis • Drooping eyelid or corner of mouth • Drooling • Dry eye or mouth • Excessive tearing in the eye • Impaired ability to taste

(Bell's Palsy, NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)