tease out

verb

1. tr, adverb to extract (information) with difficulty

Idioms and Phrases

Lure out, obtain or extract with effort, as in We had a hard time teasing the wedding date out of him . This term alludes to the literal sense of tease , “untangle or release something with a pointed tool.” [Mid-1900s]

Example Sentences

I imagine there's some effect, but I doubt it's large enough to ever tease out of our noisy economic data.

From The Daily Beast

And the president has to attempt to tease out from Romney the less commanding tone evident in the second debate.

From The Daily Beast

It had become a familiar yarn, Brad playing on his own vanity to tease out frustrations in his military life.

From The Daily Beast

What happens between now and then is an epic bureaucratic tangle, the details of which are difficult for anyone to tease out.

From The Daily Beast

Tease out a small portion of the tendon or ligament in water, and examine with a glass of high power.

From Project Gutenberg

Tease out a small piece of ligament from a rabbit's leg in salt solution; mount in the same, and examine as before.

From Project Gutenberg

Tease out a small piece of ligament from the rabbit's leg in salt solution; mount in the same, and examine under a high power.

From Project Gutenberg

Take a piece of muscle from one of the frog's limbs, tease out with needles upon a glass slip, and examine.

From Project Gutenberg