teasing

[tee-zing]

noun

1. the act of persistently annoying someone, especially playfully and with silly jokes about them.

   Most holidays, we all manage to squeeze in at Grandma’s and enjoy a crazy day full of laughter, teasing, eating, and sharing.

2. the act of bullying, harassing, or tormenting someone.

   Many students with learning disabilities suffer the frustration of low achievement and the teasing and poor self-image that come with it.

3. the act of purposely exciting, tantalizing, or sexually arousing someone without providing subsequent gratification.

   She smiled over her shoulder at him, brown eyes shiny with teasing.

adjective

1. harassing, tantalizing, or playfully annoying someone in any of these ways.

   In answer to my eager question, they shrugged a teasing “maybe.”

   Lisa turns 20 next month and her mother is already sending her teasing texts featuring grandma emojis.

Other Word Forms

• teasingly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of teasing¹

First recorded in 1585–95; teas(e) ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun senses; teas(e) ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective sense

Example Sentences

Instead, she said, she did “some light teasing” about the way she and Gomez used to dress when they met as teenagers in 2008.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The trailer announcing the reboot of the classic PBS series was released Monday, with host Mychal Threets — also known as Mychal the Librarian — teasing new episodes with celebrity guests, art projects and more.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The show also has fun teasing out the revelation of who each client is.

Read more on Salon

Han also put a message in the end credits of the finale thanking viewers and teasing a possible future spin-off.

Read more on BBC

The show’s promos have playfully frayed fan nerves by teasing, “Anything could happen.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• irritating 
• joking 
• mocking