tear at

verb — 2 senses

tear at

verb

1

To pull at violently.

When the house was empty she went from room to room. Ripping sheets from beds and tearing at them and kicking over nightstands and busting mirrors.2021, Michael Farris Smith, chapter 56, in Nick, New York; Boston; London: Little, Brown and Company, page 275:

2

To afflict or aggrieve.

The situation tore at his heart.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.