tear apart
Upset or make distraught, as in The parents' divorce tore apart the grandparents. [Second half of 1800s]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
How to use tear apart in a sentence
“If we do not stop these words that kill and that tear apart our society, there will be other Ilan Halimis,” he warned.
A Horror Story of True-Life Anti-Semitism in France | Tracy McNicoll | April 28, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn two weeks, I got enough information to tear apart that movie frame-by-frame.
True Detective Director Cary Fukunaga’s Journey from Pro Snowboarder to Hollywood’s Most Wanted | Marlow Stern | February 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTConservatives may lionize Edward Snowden now, says Michael Tomasky, but ultimately his actions are going to tear apart the GOP.
Under lateral pressure strata may fold to a certain point and then tear apart and fault along the surface of least resistance.
The Elements of Geology | William Harmon NortonIn every line it revealed a determined effort to tear apart the great trusts and to put all business on a competitive basis.
History of the United States | Charles A. Beard and Mary R. Beard
Say, round up the gang, will you, while I'm licking some of this stuff into shape for you to tear apart?
Spacehounds of IPC | Edward Elmer SmithHe discovered, also, what old stumps to tear apart when he wanted a pleasantly acid tonic dose of the larvæ of the wood-ant.
The Heart of the Ancient Wood | Charles G. D. RobertsBy raising my elbow to its original position, and using it as a lever, I could tear apart the crushed fibres.
The Wild Huntress | Mayne Reid
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