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# teary

adjective (teary, tearier, teariest)

«teary» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Teary means full of tears or close to crying: teary eyes, a teary goodbye. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/teary/#m1)
2. Teary also describes something that makes people cry: a teary film. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/teary/#m2)
3. (informal) Teary-eyed means with tears in your eyes, often because you are moved, happy or sad. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/teary/#m3)

### In the lessons

In stories it shows feelings gently: the character is moved but not sobbing. In everyday life it is used for goodbyes, weddings, school leavers' assemblies and sad films. Phrases: "teary-eyed", "get teary", "a teary farewell".

### Examples

- Grandma got teary when we sang for her birthday. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/teary/#x1)
- It was a teary goodbye at the airport. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/teary/#x2)
- My eyes went teary when I chopped the onions. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/teary/#x3)
- The ending of the film made the whole class teary. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/teary/#x4)
- Mum was teary-eyed at my sister's graduation. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/teary/#x5)
- He gave a teary speech at his last assembly. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/teary/#x6)
- Don't get teary; we'll see each other soon. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/teary/#x7)

### Note

Comparative: tearier, teariest. Rhymes with "dreary": the "tear" here is the drop from your eye (rhymes with "here"), not "tear" meaning to rip (rhymes with "bear"). Close words: tearful (more formal), weepy.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «teary» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/teary/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«teary» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/teary.html) on Mova free.