Showing results for "teasing"

• present participle of tease.

teasing

American  

[tee-zing] / ˈti zɪŋ /

noun

• teasings
  plural

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.

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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

Derived Forms

• teasingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• teasings
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of teasing

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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

teasing teasings

Temper those outrageous emotions, the ones the algorithms have gotten so good at teasing out of us.

From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2026

Over the last few months, SpaceX has been teasing bigger moves in the wireless market.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026

Fans were already aware that a second leg of Styles' tour was on the way, after the 32-year-old posted a note on Wednesday teasing what he called the "final" shows of the hugely-successful run.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026

It’s almost like payback for those teasing “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” ads.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

He laughed and said, “You dog children, come here,” which is hard to explain, but is a nice teasing thing to say.

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri

But her teasings – like her reminders of Jennifer Lawrence’s struggles with the forces of gravity — were generally light and pleasantly show-bizzy.

From Salon ● Mar. 3, 2014

Dr. Aicadre accepts his invalidism with bitter fatalism; the only things that are insupportable are the teasings of Madame Teterger's idiot son, who hates him. and the starvation rations given to his pet dog Bobbee.

From Time Magazine Archive

Rage recalls dislike, and it may be he remembered bygone irritations and teasings.

From Warlock o' Glenwarlock by George MacDonald

I tormented the family by persistent teasings to go somewhere, or to do something.

From Confessions of Boyhood by John Albee

You play no jokes upon any one, you annoy no one with your teasings and nonsense, one hardly ever hears a word of fun from you.

From Riven Bonds. Vol. II. A Novel, in Two Volumes by E. Werner

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Related Words

• irritating
• joking
• mocking

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