Tore Meaning
/tɔː(ɹ)/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjHard, difficult; wearisome, tedious.
adjStrong, sturdy; great, massive.
Sentence Examples
The girl tore the cloth.
The policeman tore the signboard from the house.
I tore my jeans on the fence.
CEFR Practice Quiz
He was so upset that he ____ the important document into shreds.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He accidentally ____ a small hole in his favorite shirt while he was climbing over the wooden fence today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English tor, tore, toor, from Old Norse tor- (“hard, difficult, wrong, bad”, prefix), from Proto-Germanic *tuz- (“hard, difficult, wrong, bad”), from Proto-Indo-European *dus- (“bad, ill, difficult”). Cognate with Old High German zur- (“mis-”, prefix), Gothic 𐍄𐌿𐌶- (tuz-, “hard, difficult”, prefix), Ancient Greek δυσ- (dus-, “bad, ill, difficult”, prefix). More at dys-.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"[…]that a Spirit came into him that did make him quake and tremble ſo exceedingly that he thought it would have tore him, &c[…]"
— 1661, George Whitehead, Edward Burroughs, The Son of Perdition Revealed […] , London, page 39:
"Upon my honor, Sir, you have tore every bit of ſkin quite off the back of both my hands with your forceps, cried my uncle Toby[…]"
— 1761, [Laurence Sterne], chapter XVI, in The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, volume III, London: […] R[obert] and J[ames] Dodsley […], →OCLC, page 71:
""Would've tore your head clean off," Dudley was bellowing. "Would've snapped it off your neck like wet toilet paper[…]"
— 1999 May 11, Rick Bass, Where the Sea Used to Be, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, →ISBN, page 393:
"the more Tore you have, the less Quantity of Hay will do"
— 1707, J[ohn] Mortimer, The Whole Art of Husbandry; or, The Way of Managing and Improving of Land. […], London: […] J[ohn] H[umphreys] for H[enry] Mortlock […], and J[onathan] Robinson […], →OCLC:
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
He was so upset that he ____ the important document into shreds.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He accidentally ____ a small hole in his favorite shirt while he was climbing over the wooden fence today.