tease

[ teez ]

verb (used with object)

, teased, teas·ing.

1. to irritate or provoke with persistent petty distractions, trifling jests, or other annoyances, often in a playful way:

   If your little sister is teasing you about your boyfriend and following you around making kissy faces, it’s because she’s jealous and wants your attention.

   Synonyms: annoy, vex, disturb, trouble

   Antonyms: mollify

2. to bully, harass, or torment:

   I was teased about my lisp when I was younger.

   New animals are kept isolated when they first arrive at the sanctuary to prevent the established pack from teasing or frightening them.

3. to purposely excite or sexually arouse (someone) without subsequent gratification:

   Don’t tease me with vacation ideas you know we can’t afford!

   She teased her fiancé with a sexy little dance even though she knew they couldn’t go all the way with a house full of guests.

4. to pull apart or separate the adhering fibers of (wool or the like), as in combing or carding; comb or card, as wool; shred.
5. to ruffle (the hair) by holding it at the ends and combing toward the scalp so as to give body to a hairdo.
6. to raise a nap on (cloth) with teasels; teasel.
7. to introduce (a new product) without revealing details about it, conveying only that the product exists and will be available at a future date:

   Both developers teased next generation game consoles at the expo, but neither released specs.

verb (used without object)

, teased, teas·ing.

1. to provoke, disturb, torment, or bully a person or animal with persistent annoyances or harassment.

noun

1. a person who teases or annoys.
2. a person who purposely excites or sexually arouses another, but then withholds gratification: All I did was set some sexual boundaries, but now he's spreading rumors that I'm a tease.

   The weatherman needs to stop being such a tease with these predicted snow days.

   All I did was set some sexual boundaries, but now he's spreading rumors that I'm a tease.

3. the act of teasing or the state of being teased.
4. Television. teaser ( def 3a ).

verb phrase

1. to discover, understand, or disentangle (complex, interconnected, or hidden information):

   Only recently have scientists teased out a causal link between sleep loss and mood disorders, like anxiety.

tease

/ tiːz /

verb

1. to annoy (someone) by deliberately offering something with the intention of delaying or withdrawing the offer
2. to arouse sexual desire in (someone) with no intention of satisfying it
3. to vex (someone) maliciously or playfully, esp by ridicule
4. tr to separate the fibres of; comb; card
5. tr to raise the nap of (a fabric) with a teasel
6. Alsobackcomb to comb the under layers of (the hair) towards the roots to give more bulk to a hairstyle
7. tr to loosen or pull apart (biological tissues, etc) by delicate agitation or prodding with an instrument

noun

1. a person or thing that teases
2. the act of teasing

Derived Forms

• ˈteasing, adjective
• ˈteasingly, adverb

Other Words From

• teas·a·ble adjective
• teas·a·ble·ness noun
• out·tease verb (used with object) outteased outteasing
• un·teased adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of tease¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English verb tese(n), teise, Old English tǣsan “to pull, tear, comb”; cognate with Middle Low German tesen, Old High German zeisan “to pluck”; the noun is derivative of the verb

Word History and Origins

Origin of tease¹

Old English tǣsan; related to Old High German zeisan to pick

Synonym Study

See bother.

Example Sentences

The car maker, which is embarking on the biggest change in its history, released a new logo and a so-called "social media tease", ahead of its relaunch as an electric-only brand.

From BBC

Although many websites say ice cream contains more fat than gelato, this is a tricky one to tease out.

From Salon

Shugalei himself teases his presence in various African countries, sometimes sharing short, low-budget, vlog-style Telegram videos that make clear his love of showmanship.

From BBC

How she would have teased him when he fell asleep on a boat tour of the canals.

From Salon

In analyzing the reviews, the researchers used a language processing technique to tease out the most common topics from the reviews, organized them into themes, and measured how they changed over time.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• annoy
• badger
• bother
• harass
• mock
• needle
• nudge
• pester
• pick on
• ridicule
• tantalize
• taunt
• torment