| Additional Translations |
| tear⇒ vi | US (form tears) | llorar⇒ vi |
| | It was so cold my eyes started tearing. |
| | Hacía tanto frío que mis ojos comenzaron a llorar. |
| tear vi | (become torn) | rasgarse⇒ v prnl |
| | This page is tearing: I need some tape. |
| | Esta página se está rasgando. Necesito cinta adhesiva. |
| tear vi | informal (move fast) | correr⇒ vi |
| Note: Followed by adverb or prepositional phrase. |
| | The car tore down the street. |
| | El auto corrió a toda velocidad calle abajo. |
| tear [sth]⇒ vtr | (damage: ligament) | desgarrar⇒ vtr |
| | | romperse un ligamento loc verb |
| | She's torn her knee, and won't be able to play. |
| | Ella se ha desgarrado la rodilla y no podrá jugar. |
| | Ella se rompió un ligamento de la rodilla y no podrá jugar. |
| tear [sth] vtr | (rip: clothing) | rasgar⇒ vtr |
| | | romper⇒ vtr |
| | He tore his shorts climbing a tree. |
| | Él rasgó sus pantalones subiendo al árbol. |
| | Él rompió sus pantalones trepando a un árbol |
| tear [sth] vtr | (pull up) | arrancar⇒ vtr |
| | She tore the weeds from the ground. |
| | Ella arrancó los yerbajos de la tierra. |
| tear [sth] vtr | (wrench) | arrancar⇒ vtr |
| | He tore a leg from the chicken and started eating. |
| | Ella le arrancó un muslo al pollo y comenzó a comer. |
| tear [sb]⇒ vtr | figurative (distress) | debatirse⇒ v prnl |
| | I'm torn as to whether I should go or stay. |
| | Me debato entre si debo irme o quedarme. |
| tear [sth]⇒ vtr | figurative (divide) | dividir⇒ vtr |
| | The country was torn in two by the issue. |
| | El país estaba dividido en dos a raíz del asunto. |
Locuciones verbales
tear | torn |
rip into [sb],
tear into [sb] vtr phrasal insep | figurative, informal (criticize, berate) | criticar⇒ vtr |
| | | denostar⇒ vtr |
| | | humillar⇒ vtr |
| | (figurado) | atacar⇒ vtr |
| Note: Ante complemento directo de persona debe usarse la preposición «a». |
| | Nancy was furious with Jane and ripped into her. |
| | Nancy estaba furiosa con Jane y la criticó. |
tear [sth] apart,
tear apart [sth] vtr phrasal sep | (rip to pieces) | despedazar⇒, destrozar⇒ vtr |
| | (tela, papel) | rasgar⇒ vtr |
| | | hacer trizas, hacer pedazos loc verb |
| | He tore apart the green pear with his bare hands. |
| | Despedazó la pera solo con las manos. |
tear [sth] apart,
tear apart [sth] vtr phrasal sep | (destroy) | destruir⇒, destrozar⇒ vtr |
| | Ten years of war has torn the city apart. |
| | Diez años de guerra han destruido la ciudad. |
| tear [sb] apart vtr phrasal sep | figurative (devastate emotionally) | destrozar a vtr + prep |
| | | desgarrar a vtr + prep |
| | | destruir a vtr + prep |
| | Getting a cancer diagnosis can tear you apart. |
| | Un diagnóstico de cáncer puede destrozar a cualquiera. |
tear [sb] and [sb] apart,
tear apart [sb] and [sb] vtr phrasal sep | figurative (divide) | separar⇒ vtr |
| | Ryan's affair tore him and his fiancée apart. |
| | ⓘEsta oración no es una traducción de la original. ¡Nada nos separará, amor mío! |
tear [sth] apart,
tear apart [sth] vtr phrasal sep | figurative (give negative opinions of) (figurado) | hacer pedazos, hacer trizas loc verb |
| | (figurado) | hacer polvo loc verb |
| | (figurado) | despedazar⇒, destrozar⇒ vtr |
| | The art critic just tore apart the painting. |
| | El crítico de arte hizo trizas la pintura. |
| tear [sb] away vtr phrasal sep | figurative, informal (remove) | apartar a vtr + prep |
| | | sacar a vtr + prep |
| | That kid is so glued to the TV that it's difficult to tear her away. |
| | La niña está tan pegada a la televisión que cuesta apartarla. |
tear [sth] down,
tear down [sth] vtr phrasal sep | (dismantle, demolish) | demoler⇒, derribar⇒ vtr |
| | | echar a tierra loc verb |
| | (CO: informal) | tumbar⇒ vtr |
| | The government must tear down several houses to build the highway. |
| | El Gobierno debe demoler varias casas para construir la carretera. |
tear [sth] down,
tear down [sth] vtr phrasal sep | figurative (destroy) | destrozar⇒, destruir⇒ vtr |
| | | hacer trizas, hacer pedazos loc verb |
| | His cutting remarks tore down her fragile self-esteem. |
| | Los comentarios hirientes que hizo él destrozaron la frágil autoestima de ella. |
tear [sb/sth] down,
tear down [sb/sth] vtr phrasal sep | figurative, informal (criticize harshly) | criticar con dureza vtr + loc adv |
| | | despedazar⇒, destrozar⇒ vtr |
| | | hacer trizas, hacer pedazos loc verb |
| Note: Ante complemento directo de persona debe usarse la preposición «a». |
| | Bran's partner is always tearing him down; he should find someone kinder. |
| | La pareja de Bran se la pasa criticándolo con dureza; debería buscar a alguien más amable. |
| tear [sth] from [sth] vtr phrasal insep | (pull or rip out of) | extraer algo de loc verb |
| | The story line of the drama was torn from the headlines. |
| | ⓘEsta oración no es una traducción de la original. La cita, que fue extraída de un recorte del periódico, me dejó atónito. |
| tear into [sb] vtr phrasal insep | figurative (scold [sb] harshly) | arremeter contra vi + prep |
tear [sth] off,
tear off [sth] vtr phrasal sep | (detach by ripping) | arrancar⇒ vtr |
| | He tore off the wrapping to discover what was inside. |
| | Arrancó el envoltorio para ver qué había dentro. |
| tear off vi phrasal | informal (leave hurriedly) (coloquial) | salir disparado loc verb |
| | (coloquial) | salir corriendo loc verb |
| | (AR: coloquial) | salir a los piques loc verb |
| | (ES: coloquial) | pirarse⇒ v prnl |
| | The bank robbers tore off in their car. |
| | Los asaltantes del banco salieron disparados en su coche. |
tear [sth] open,
tear open [sth] vtr phrasal sep | (open by ripping or pulling) | rasgar el envoltorio loc verb |
| | Kids love tearing their gifts open on Christmas morning. |
| | A los niños les encanta rasgar el envoltorio de los regalos en Navidad. |
tear [sth] out,
tear out [sth] vtr phrasal sep | (remove by ripping) | arrancar⇒ vtr |
| | He tore out a page from the magazine. |
| | When I see a good recipe in the newspaper, I usually tear it out. |
| | Arrancó una página de la revista. |
tear [sth] up,
tear up [sth] vtr phrasal sep | (rip to pieces) (tela, papel...) | rasgar⇒, romper⇒ vtr |
| | | despedazar⇒, destrozar⇒ vtr |
| | | hacer trizas, hacer pedazos loc verb |
| Note: En mil pedazos es una frase hecha. |
| | I'm going to tear up the letter you wrote me. |
| | Voy a rasgar la carta que me escribiste. |
| tear up vi phrasal | informal (become teary-eyed) | llenársele los ojos de lágrimas a loc verb |
| | | salírsele las lágrimas a loc verb |
| | If he sings a sad song, I'm going to tear up for sure. |
| | Si canta una canción triste, seguro se me llenan los ojos de lágrimas. |
Compound Forms:
torn | tear |
| be torn in two v expr | figurative (person: be conflicted) | estar en un dilema loc verb |
| | She was torn in two over having to decide which of her parents she would live with. |
| | Estoy en un dilema y no sé qué hacer. No quiero herir a ninguno de los dos. |
| be torn in two v expr | figurative (person: feel devastated) | sentirse destrozado v prnl |
| | I was torn in two when she left me. |
| | Me sentí destrozado cuando ella me dejó. |
| torn apart adj | informal (ripped to pieces) (coloquial) | hecho pedazos loc adj |
| | | hecho trizas loc adj |
| | (coloquial) | hecho jirones loc adj |
| | | destrozado/a adj |
torn apart,
torn-apart adj | figurative (ravaged) | destrozado/a adj |
| | | arrasado adj |
| Note: A hyphen is used when the adjective precedes the noun |
| | Following the guerilla insurgencies, little remained of the torn-apart colony. |
| | Después de las guerrillas insurgentes, poco quedó de la colonia destrozada. |
torn apart,
torn-apart adj | figurative (separated) | separado/a adj |
| | | dividido adj |
| | Divorces can result in torn-apart families, living in separate parts of the country. |
| | Los divorcios pueden resultar en familias separadas, que viven en lugares distintos del país. |
torn apart,
torn-apart adj | informal, figurative (emotionally devastated) | destrozado, destruido loc adj |
| | (figurado) | hecho pedazos, hecho polvo loc adj |
| | She was torn apart over her mother's death. |
| | Estaba destrozada después de la muerte de su madre. |
torn down,
torn-down adj | (structure: demolished) | derribado participio |
| | | demolido participio |
| Note: A hyphen is used when the term precedes the noun. |
| | The streets of torn-down houses gave way to shiny new tower blocks. |
| | Las casas derribadas dieron lugar a nuevas torres de edificios. |
torn off,
torn-down adj | (detached by ripping) | arrancado participio |
| Note: A hyphen is used when the term precedes the noun. |
| | Emily put the torn-off strip from the bottom of the bill in an envelope with a cheque. |
| | Emily puso el pedazo arrancado del borde de la factura en un sobre junto con un cheque. |
torn out,
torn-down adj | (detached by ripping) | rasgado/a adj |
| Note: A hyphen is used when the term precedes the noun. |
| | Oliver threw the torn-out pages from the magazine in the bin. |
| | Tienes el vestido rasgado, te lo debes haber enganchado. |
torn up,
torn-up adj | (ripped to pieces) | hecho pedazos loc adj |
| | | hecho trizas loc adj |
| | | roto/a adj |
| Note: A hyphen is used when the term precedes the noun. |
| | Fragments of the torn-up letter fluttered in the wind. |
| | Fragmentos de la carta hecha pedazos volaban por el viento. |
torn up,
torn-up adj | (emotionally upset) | decepcionado/a adj |
| | | contrariado/a adj |
| Note: A hyphen is used when the term precedes the noun. |
| | I'm torn up because my boss won't increase my salary. |
| | Estoy decepcionado de mi jefe por no haberme subido el sueldo. |
| war-torn adj | (ravaged by war) | devastado por la guerra loc adj |
| | | asolado por la guerra loc adj |
| war-torn country n | (nation marked by conflict) (país) | asolado por la guerra loc adj |
| | | dividido por el conflicto loc adj |
| war-torn region n | (area marked by conflict) (zona) | marcada por la guerra loc adj |