ADJ
angry, bitter, emotional
She wiped away bitter tears as she read the letter from her old friend.
burning, fresh, hot, salty, scalding
The child wiped away fresh tears after falling off her bicycle.
genuine, real
crocodile
She claimed to be upset, but everyone knew those were just crocodile tears.
great, huge, large | single, solitary | silent | helpless, sudden, uncontrollable
unshed
She felt the weight of unshed tears as she listened to the sad news about her friend.
VERB + TEAR
cry, shed, weep
When the sad movie ended, he couldn't help but cry tears of emotion.
dry, wipe (away)
After the sad movie ended, she wiped away a tear and smiled.
blink/choke/fight/hold back
She blinked back tears as she walked out of the cinema after watching the sad movie.
break down in, burst into
When he heard the news about his best friend, he burst into tears.
move/reduce sb to
The sad movie moved her to tears during the final scene.
brim/fill with
When she heard the sad news, her eyes brimmed with tears.
end in
Their friendship ended in tears after years of misunderstandings.
TEAR + VERB
appear, brim in your eyes, brim over, come, fill your eyes, form, gather, spring into/to your eyes, start, well (up)
When she heard the sad news, tears started rolling down her face.
course/pour/roll/run/slide/trickle down sth, drip into/onto sth, fall, flow, overflow, stream
When she heard the sad news, tears started streaming down her face.
stand
Tears stood in her eyes as she read the letter from her old friend.
blur sth, cloud sth
Her tears clouded the bathroom mirror as she tried to see her reflection.
burn (sth), prick (at/in) sth, sting your eyes
Hot smoke made tears burn his eyes as he rushed out of the kitchen.
dry (up)
PREP
in ~s
The little girl ran to her mother in tears after falling off her bicycle.
through your ~s
He managed to laugh through his tears when he saw his old friend again.
~ for
She wiped away tears for her grandmother after hearing the sad news.
~ of
She wiped away tears of relief when she found out she had passed the exam.
~ over
She got tears over her lost dog, but he came home the next day.
PHRASES
bring tears to your eyes
Watching the old home videos brought tears to my eyes.
close/near to tears
When I heard the sad news about my grandmother, I was close to tears.
a flood/floods of tears
When she heard the sad news about her grandmother, a flood of tears rolled down her cheeks.
a mist of tears
When she received the good news, happiness filled her eyes and a mist of tears blurred her vision.
on the verge of tears, tears in your eyes, too deep for tears
When she heard the news about her father, tears filled her eyes and she couldn't speak.
VERB + TEAR
have | make | mend
PREP
~ in
My favorite jeans have a small tear in the left pocket.
PHRASES
wear and tear
ADV
badly
The old blanket was badly torn after years of use by the children.
easily
The old paper ripped easily when I tried to unfold it carefully.
almost, nearly
The strong wind almost tore my jacket apart while I was walking home yesterday.
apart, off, out, up
My son got so angry that he tore up all his homework and threw it in the trash.
VERB + TEAR
threaten to
PREP
from
He carefully tore the label from the jar before recycling it.
off
He tore off a piece of bread and gave it to his daughter.
on
He ripped his new jeans on the fence while climbing over it.
out of
The child accidentally tore a picture out of her notebook during class.
PHRASES
tear free/loose
The dog finally tore loose from its leash and ran across the park.
tear sth in half/two
He got angry and tore his test paper in two.
tear sb limb from limb
The angry crowd threatened to tear the corrupt politician limb from limb.
tear sth open
He tore the package open eagerly to see what was inside.
tear sth to pieces/shreds
The angry dog tore the old newspaper to shreds within minutes.