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.
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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)
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
-
(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
-
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:
Musk continued to tease a future demonstration of Tesla’s third-generation Optimus robot, which he previously said would be demonstrated in the first quarter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
The Texas legislature has passed laws to encourage companies to list shares in Texas, and they tease more are to come.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
And what can you tease now that won’t make sense until we watch?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
My friends sometimes tease me for being the only remaining “cool one.”
From Slate ● Jun. 13, 2026
Christmas Eve was also a time when the children could tease their father and know there would be no sudden explosion or descent into fury.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
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
He also teases the introduction of new characters.
From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2026
Without sharing any details, Parker teases the situation will be addressed again next season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 22, 2026
History teases at a third possibility: Warsh succeeds as chair and still disappoints Trump.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 7, 2026
Noah teases, “What about you? It’s impossible for you!”
From "Muffled" by Jennifer Gennari
The congresswoman teased O’Handley, the person said, for not placing a bigger wager.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 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
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
“Get out of the way, you greedy dragon!” she teased, and broke him off a piece.
From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr
The trailer also offers a glimpse into Sally and Gillian’s present lives — with the latter teasing the former’s apparent lack of love life.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
McGinn, 31, says he harbours regrets about sometimes teasing other kids in his own youth for wearing glasses, now that he appreciates how challenging it can be.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 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
If Charles was spotted eating a bologna sandwich for lunch, you risked teasing if that’s what your mom put in your bag.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
“Maybe I should lay off teasing you about that,” she said.
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
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.
