What is tearing up?
TEARING UP (phrasal verb)
Tearing up has two definitions:
To begin to cry.
Past tense: Teared up
To damage, destroy, or rip apart; physically or emotionally.
Past tense: Tore up
Example Sentences
He began to tear up upon hearing the sad news.
The celebrity struggled to contain her emotions when she teared up during her award acceptance speech.
"Hey, don't be sad," I said, when I saw my friend tearing up.
In a fit of rage, I tore up all of my hard work.
Why are you tearing up those important documents?
The construction workers are tearing up that plot of land so that they can construct a new building there.
She was all torn up when her best friend had to move away.
Conclusion
Although tearing up does imply crying, it only indicates the moments before the tears actually begin fall. The person's eyes may appear shiny, or tears may gather, ready to spill over in an expression of emotion.
Causing physical damage by tearing something up means to rip it apart, whether it is paper, cloth, or ground.
However, causing emotional damage by tearing up means to invoke unhappy or upset feelings.
Tearing Up
By: Teacher Sierra from AmazingTalker
Today, I will teach you the meaning of "tearing up".
Tearing up has 2 different meanings with 2 different pronunciations. I will teach you the 2 meanings.
Meaning 1: Tearing up means that the eyes are filled with tears, and the person is about to start crying. Here is an example of someone is tearing up.
Examples
Example 1
Why are you tearing up?
Example 2
The girl is tearing up.
Example 3
Mary started tearing up when she heard the sad news.
Here is the other meaning to tearing up.
Meaning 2: To rip something apart or to destroy. I will show an example of someone tearing something up.
Examples
Example 1
The child is tearing up the homework!
Example 2
No! Don’t start tearing up the paper!
Example 3
James is tearing up his toys!
Example 4
She is tearing up photos!
Examples 5
The construction workers are tearing up the roads.
"Tearing up" could have two possible meanings depending on which "tear" is being used here:
It could be "tear" (pronounced as /tayr/), as in 'rip' or 'pull apart', or 'pull pieces off of'. In this case "tear sth up" means to rip it into a lot of small pieces.
"He tore the letter up and threw it away."
"She is tearing up his letter in front of his face."
It could also be "tear" (pronounced as /teer/), as in a drop of salty liquid that flows from the eyes when crying. In thise case "tear up" means to to get tears in your eyes, so that you almost start to cry, because you are experiencing strong emotion.
"She teared up as the award was presented to her."
"He was tearing up before I even finished delivering the bad news."
to cry
phrasal verb ( verb+preposition)
:meaning : to almost cry because of a lot of emotions at a short time
to get tears in your eyes, so that you almost start to cry, because you are experiencing strong emotion:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/tear-up?q=tearing+up examples
He teared up at the unexpected news
He is constantly tearing up when he thinks about his father .
Tearing up like this will not help you with the problem - You need to pull yourself together
informal
usually informal
cryShe skinned her knee and began to cry.
weepMy lady, why do you weep?
cry your eyes outOur children cried their eyes out when our dog ran way.
sob your heart outShe waved goodbye to her parents, then went to the gate and sobbed her heart out.