tear apart

tear apart
verb
express a totally negative opinion of (Freq. 1)
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The critics panned the performance

Syn: ↑pan, ↑trash
Hypernyms: ↑disparage, ↑belittle, ↑pick at
Verb Frames:
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Somebody ——s something

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Somebody ——s somebody

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Sam and Sue tear apart the movie

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tear apart [phrasal verb]
1 tear (something) apart or tear apart (something) : to completely destroy (something) by tearing it into pieces

I couldn't open the box nicely, so I just tore it apart.

— often used figuratively

The robbers tore apart the house [=they made a mess in the house] looking for the money.

We tore the other team apart [=we easily beat the other team] in yesterday's game.

Civil war threatened to tear apart the country.

We can't agree, and it's tearing our family apart.

2 tear (someone or something) apart or tear apart (someone or something) : to criticize (someone or something) in a very harsh or angry way especially by describing weaknesses, flaws, etc.

The article tears apart the government's handling of the situation.

I thought it was a good movie, but she tore it apart.

They tore him apart when he left.

— see also tear 1, 7 (above), 1
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Main Entry:tear

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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Look at other dictionaries:

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  • tear apart something — tear apart (someone/something) 1. to severely criticize someone or something. The critics tore apart his first novel, but he never gave up and finally achieved great success. His teachers tore him apart for cheating on the test. 2. to hurt… …   New idioms dictionary

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