rip apart
Destroy by tearing
To rip apart is to tear something into pieces, either literally or figuratively.
You might rip apart a cardboard box for recycling, or a critic might rip apart a film in a scathing review.
The phrase often implies violence or thoroughness: The wolves ripped the carcass apart.
Figuratively, it can describe emotional devastation: The divorce ripped their family apart.
- tearTo pull apart
- shredTorn fragment
- destroyCause complete ruin
- mangleSeverely damage or distort
- savageFierce and untamed
wild animal · claw · teeth · flesh · tear limb from limb · fabric · violence · brutal · fierce · attack · devour · carnage · wound · lacerate · gut · eviscerate · maul · ravage