tear apart

tear apart idiom
  1. Upset or make distraught, as in The parents' divorce tore apart the grandparents. [Second half of 1800s]
  2. Criticize severely, as in The professor tore her paper apart. [Mid-1900s]
  3. Search some place completely, as in The police tore the house apart. [Second half of 1900s]
  4. Separate, especially unwillingly, as in The war tore many families apart.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.