tease
Americanverb (used with object)
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teases,
present (3rd person singular)
-
teased,
past participle, past
-
teasing
present participle
-
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
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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.
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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.
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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)
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teases,
present (3rd person singular)
-
teased,
past participle, past
-
teasing
present participle
noun
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teases
plural
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a person who teases or annoys.
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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
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(tr) to loosen or pull apart (biological tissues, etc) by delicate agitation or prodding with an instrument
noun
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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)
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teasableadjective
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teasingadjective
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unteasedadjective
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teasinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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teasesimple
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teasessimple
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have teasedperfect
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has teasedperfect
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am teasingprogressive
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are teasingprogressive
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is teasingprogressive
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have been teasingperfect progressive
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has been teasingperfect progressive
Past
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teasedsimple
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had teasedperfect
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was teasingprogressive
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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 Turkish side took to their social media on Tuesday night to tease the arrival of Salah with the Pyramids being shown on a video next to Papara Park.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
The new album appears designed to tease, coax and overwhelm the listener.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
And what can you tease now that won’t make sense until we watch?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
Or again, this time straying further into Bridgerton territory, the narrator breaks the fourth wall to tease, “I know, dear Reader, that you are taken aback.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
“Do the boys at school tease you about root?”
From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce
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
The only clear morals of “Transcription” have to do with its insistence on mystery, and on art that teases the mind and refreshes the senses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 31, 2026
“I thought it might be nice to play with the format a little bit, and that just gives the episode some energy,” teases Binder.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 24, 2026
The short clip also teases a reunion between Buzz and Woody, following the latter's decision to leave the gang to help abandoned toys in the previous film, 2019's Toy Story 4.
From BBC ● Feb. 20, 2026
“I speak proper English, unlike some people around here,” Mom teases.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
The congresswoman teased O’Handley, the person said, for not placing a bigger wager.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
"There were times... There were times..." teased William.
From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026
Oliver Tree’s music and memory lived on at the Electric Forest festival over the weekend, where T-Pain and Shaquille O’Neal teased what is likely the late singer’s final project.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
“I was like, ‘Oh, Lauren, you meant to look for this light blue Cinderella ball gown,’” she teased her sibling.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
When we teased her too much, Father intervened and reprimanded us.
From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson
Even the winning six delivered a tantalising wait, hanging in the air, teasing the chance of a catch, but it just crept over the rope to spark Super Giants' celebrations.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
The Spidey Tracker info from the “Brand New Day” post-credits scene could be teasing that’s where Spider-Man will eventually land.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
Jamuna Paar - literally "across the Yamuna" - is shorthand for the city's eastern neighbourhoods and the subject of endless teasing over their neglected civic infrastructure.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
At some point, I complained to my mom about the teasing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
I can tell from his eyebrow that he’s teasing.
From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron
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.
