Torn

How to spell torn

4 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce torn

What does torn mean?

1. adjectivePulled apart or damaged so that a hole or split is left in a material.
2. adjectiveUnable to decide between two choices because of strong feelings toward each.

Torn in a sentence

• The parcel arrived with a torn corner and the contents falling out.

• She felt torn between taking the new job and staying near her family.

• He refused to wear the torn shirt to the interview.

• The committee was torn over whether to spend the budget now or save it.

Where does torn come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

Torn is the past participle of the verb 'tear', which descends from the Old English teran, meaning 'to pull apart' or 'to rend'. That verb belonged to a strong Germanic class whose past forms changed the vowel rather than adding an ending, which is exactly why we say 'tear, tore, torn' instead of a regular 'teared'. The root traces back to a Proto-Germanic teran and ultimately to an Indo-European root that meant 'to tear or rub apart', a relative of the Greek derein 'to flay or skin'. Over the centuries the literal sense of ripping cloth or paper gave rise to a vivid figurative use, so that a person caught between two choices is described as 'torn', as if pulled in two directions at once. The spelling keeps the -orn shape of the past participle, which sets it apart from the present-tense 'tear' even though both share the same family.

How the word is built

• tor- (past-participle stem of 'tear', from Old English teran 'to rip')
• -n (past participle ending)