tear away

See also: tearaway

English

Verb

tear away (third-person singular simple present tears away, present participle tearing away, simple past tore away, past participle torn away)

1. (transitive, often reflexive) To remove (oneself or another person), overcoming that person's reluctance to be so removed.

   I couldn't tear myself away from the movie after I had begun watching it.

   Could I please tear you away from that video game for a moment?

   • 2022 November 30, Paul Bigland, “Destination Oban: a Sunday in Scotland”, in RAIL, number 971, page 75:

     Watching the world go by is so much fun that I have to tear myself away to catch my next service - LNER's 'Highland Chieftain' worked by a bi-mode Class 800 Azuma, [...].

2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see tear,‎ away.

Translations

(transitive) to remove a reluctant person

• Finnish: repiä irti
• Polish: odrywać (pl) impf, oderwać (pl) pf
• Ukrainian: відрива́ти impf (vidryváty), відірва́ти pf (vidirváty)

(reflexive) to remove oneself reluctantly

• Finnish: irtautua (fi)
• Russian: отрыва́ться (ru) impf (otryvátʹsja), оторва́ться (ru) pf (otorvátʹsja)
• Swedish: slita sig (från)
• Ukrainian: відрива́тися impf (vidryvátysja), відірва́тися pf (vidirvátysja)