tease
Americanverb (used with object)
-
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.
- Antonyms:
- mollify
-
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.
-
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.
-
to pull apart or separate the adhering fibers of (wool or the like), as in combing or carding; comb or card, as wool; shred.
-
to ruffle (the hair) by holding it at the ends and combing toward the scalp so as to give body to a hairdo.
-
to raise a nap on (cloth) with teasels; teasel.
-
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)
noun
-
a person who teases or annoys.
-
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.
-
the act of teasing or the state of being teased.
-
Television. teaser.
verb phrase
verb
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to annoy (someone) by deliberately offering something with the intention of delaying or withdrawing the offer
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to arouse sexual desire in (someone) with no intention of satisfying it
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to vex (someone) maliciously or playfully, esp by ridicule
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(tr) to separate the fibres of; comb; card
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(tr) to raise the nap of (a fabric) with a teasel
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Also: backcomb. to comb the under layers of (the hair) towards the roots to give more bulk to a hairstyle
-
(tr) to loosen or pull apart (biological tissues, etc) by delicate agitation or prodding with an instrument
noun
-
a person or thing that teases
-
the act of teasing
Synonym Usage
See bother.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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teasablenessnoun
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outteaseverb (used with object)
-
teasableadjective
-
teasingadjective
-
unteasedadjective
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teasinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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teasesimple
-
teasessimple
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have teasedperfect
-
has teasedperfect
-
am teasingprogressive
-
are teasingprogressive
-
is teasingprogressive
-
have been teasingperfect progressive
-
has been teasingperfect progressive
Past
-
teasedsimple
-
had teasedperfect
-
was teasingprogressive
-
were teasingprogressive
-
had been teasingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of tease
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
Explanation
To tease is to pick on someone or to give false hope. You can tease your little sister by saying "nanny nanny boo boo" or by holding a cookie just out of her reach. Tease, a modern spelling of the Old English taesan “pluck, pull apart" is now associated with the act of harassing. You can still use tease as a verb, though, to describe the act of backcombing your hair to give it volume. But more commonly, tease refers to messing with someone. There’s an old proverb, “Patience when teased is often transformed into rage,” which means if you tease someone a lot, you might get your booty kicked!
Vocabulary lists containing tease
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The new album appears designed to tease, coax and overwhelm the listener.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
My brothers still tease me, but I know they’re proud.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
My friends sometimes tease me for being the only remaining “cool one.”
From Slate ● Jun. 13, 2026
Fans read it as the first tease for her new album and now, nearly two years later, Florescence is here.
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
I tell Farmer, and I’m grateful that he doesn’t tease me.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
Her son, Jack, 34, whom she shares with ex-husband Dennis Quaid, often teases his mom about her home renovation process and has even branded her work “Meg-anized.”
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026
But the global superstar - known for long-game teases and hidden Easter eggs that fans love to decode - has been coy on details of her wedding to American football star, Travis Kelce.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026
On the way out, after one fellow diner tells Domingo he’s a fan, the actor teases another who tries to play it cool after spotting the star.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 10, 2026
Without sharing any details, Parker teases the situation will be addressed again next season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 22, 2026
Justin teases Brandon about his last name—Hardy—and it turns out both are fans of the Hardy Boys.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
Attitude Towards Press: The gossip columnist Earl Wilson once teased Parker: “There’s a rumor, Colonel, that if Elvis ever gets married, you’re going to have it in the Hollywood Bowl and sell tickets.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
This week, Carlson teased an interview with podcasters Joel Webbon and J.D.
From Salon ● Jun. 26, 2026
Fury was present at the UFC's White House show on 14 June and teased a "massive announcement" from White before revealing he would be promoted by Alalshikh.
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026
He also reflected on his career thus far — he quickly ascended to fame in 2019 with his viral hit “Old Town Road” — and teased that new music is on the way.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
September teased them with agonizing on-again, off-again attacks against the ship.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
At some point, I complained to my mom about the teasing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, attending the summit as a guest, could not resist teasing Macron, an avowed fan of PSG's bitter southern rivals Olympique de Marseille.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
Abrams took to Instagram to share her upcoming tour dates, teasing fans with the caption, “we’re baaaaaack.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
He even managed to get a more current jest in, teasing the group of young cadets with a “six-seven” joke about making good choices.
From Salon ● May 24, 2026
I look at Naano, unsure if she’s serious or teasing.
From "Zara’s Rules for Record-Breaking Fun" by Hena Khan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
