savage vs tear at

savage

verb
  • To attack or assault someone or something ferociously or without restraint. 

  • To attack with the teeth. 

  • To criticise vehemently. 

adj
  • Unpleasant or unfair. 

  • Fierce and ferocious. 

  • Nude; naked. 

  • Barbaric; not civilized. 

  • Great, brilliant, amazing. 

  • Wild; not cultivated. 

  • Brutal, vicious, or merciless. 

noun
  • An aggressively defiant person. 

  • A person living in a traditional, especially tribal, rather than civilized society, especially when viewed as uncivilized and uncultivated; a barbarian. 

tear at

verb
  • To pull at violently. 

  • To afflict or aggrieve. 

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