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to tear up
01
to rip something into small pieces
Transitive: to tear up paper
Grammatical Information
Composition
phrasal
Action verb
Regular
Separable
Particle
up
Base verb
tear
Present tense
tear up
3rd person singular
tears up
Present participle
tearing up
Past simple
tore up
Past participle
torn up
Examples
She tore up the old love letters after the breakup.
02
to begin to cry or become emotional
Intransitive
Examples
He ca n't help tearing up each time the conversation shifts to the loss of a loved one.
