scratch vs tear

scratch

verb
  • Hence, to remove, ignore, or delete. 

  • To rub a surface with a sharp object, especially by a living creature to remove itching with nails, claws, etc. 

  • to get such scratches 

  • To mark a surface with a sharp object, thereby leaving a scratch (noun). 

  • To produce a distinctive sound on a turntable by moving a vinyl record back and forth while manipulating the crossfader (see also scratching). 

  • To irritate someone's skin with one's unshaven beard when kissing. 

  • To rub the skin with rough material causing a sensation of irritation; to cause itching. 

  • To commit a foul in pool, as where the cue ball is put into a pocket or jumps off the table. 

  • To write or draw hastily or awkwardly; scrawl. 

  • To cross out, strike out, strike through some text on a page. 

  • To dig or excavate with the claws. 

  • To dig or scrape (a person's skin) with claws or fingernails in self-defense or with the intention to injure. 

  • To announce one's non-participation in a race or sports event part of a larger sports meeting that they were previously signed up for, usually in lieu of another event at the same meeting. 

adj
  • Hastily assembled, arranged or constructed, from whatever materials are to hand, with little or no preparation 

  • For or consisting of preliminary or tentative, incomplete, etc. work. 

  • Relating to a scratchpad, a data structure or recording medium attached to a machine for testing or temporary use. 

  • (of a player) Of a standard high enough to play without a handicap, i.e. to compete without the benefit of a variation in scoring based on ability. 

noun
  • An act of scratching the skin to alleviate an itch or irritation. 

  • Money. 

  • A feed, usually a mixture of a few common grains, given to chickens. 

  • A horse withdrawn from a race prior to the start. 

  • Minute, but tender and troublesome, excoriations, covered with scabs, upon the heels of horses which have been used where it is very wet or muddy. 

  • A scratch wig. 

  • A genre of Virgin Islander music, better known as fungi. 

  • A technical error of touching or surpassing the starting mark prior to the official start signal in the sporting events of long jump, discus, hammer throw, shot put, and similar. Originally the starting mark was a scratch on the ground but is now a board or precisely indicated mark. 

  • A starting line (originally and simply, a line scratched in the ground), as in boxing. 

  • Scrawled or illegible handwriting; chicken scratch. 

  • The last riders to depart in a handicap race. 

  • A disruption, mark or shallow cut on a surface made by scratching. 

  • A foul in pool, as where the cue ball is put into a pocket or jumps off the table. 

  • An injury. 

tear

verb
  • To demolish 

  • To destroy or reduce abstract unity or coherence, such as social, political or emotional. 

  • To injure as if by pulling apart. 

  • To move or act with great speed, energy, or violence. 

  • To produce tears. 

  • To make (an opening) with force or energy. 

  • To become torn, especially accidentally. 

  • To rend (a solid material) by holding or restraining in two places and pulling apart, whether intentionally or not; to destroy or separate. 

  • To remove by tearing. 

  • To smash or enter something with great force. 

noun
  • A rampage. 

  • A partially vitrified bit of clay in glass. 

  • A hole or break caused by tearing. 

  • A drop of clear, salty liquid produced from the eyes by crying or irritation. 

  • Something in the form of a transparent drop of fluid matter; also, a solid, transparent, tear-shaped drop, as of some balsams or resins. 

  • That which causes or accompanies tears; a lament; a dirge. 

How often have the words scratch and tear occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )