Tearing

Up and down are opposites. But if you use the word tearing with them, you might think that they mean about the same thing.

But they don't, truly.

At first, I thought they did. But after I gave it more thought, I realized this:

• Tearing up is usually something you do with your hands, such as tearing up a piece of paper.
• Tearing down is tearing on a bigger object that you can't hold, such as tearing down a ruin of a house.