tease

[ teez ]

/ tiz /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tease ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), teased, teas·ing.

to irritate or provoke with persistent petty distractions, trifling raillery, or other annoyance, often in sport.

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.

Also teaser. Television Slang. a short scene or highlight shown at the beginning of a film or television show to attract the audience's attention.

verb (used without object), teased, teas·ing.

to provoke or disturb a person or animal by importunity or persistent petty annoyances.

noun

a person who teases or annoys.

the act of teasing or the state of being teased.

Nearby words

tearstain, teary, teary-eyed, teasdale, teasdale, sara, tease, tease out, teasel, teasel family, teasel gourd, teaser

Origin of tease

before 1000; Middle English tesen (v.), Old English tǣsan to pull, tear, comb; cognate with Middle Low German tesen, Old High German zeisan to pluck

SYNONYMS FOR tease

1 trouble, disturb, vex; harass.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tease ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR tease

1 mollify.

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Related forms

teas·a·ble, adjectiveteas·a·ble·ness, nounteas·ing·ly, adverbout·tease, verb (used with object), out·teased, out·teas·ing.

un·teased, adjective

Synonym study

1. See bother.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for teasing

After some teasing and talking, Mulvehill writes that she is “hesitant” but they start kissing.
School Shooters Love This Pickup Artist Website|Brandy Zadrozny|December 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The teasing is so common that is has been accepted as “the standard ginger bullying” by those who Knights has encountered.
Redheads Are Sexy, Dammit!|Justin Jones|September 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
So all day I was teasing her, telling her she should change her band name to Little Bald Beth.
Norman Reedus: Daryl Doesn’t Need Romance, ‘The Walking Dead’ Isn’t About Erections|Melissa Leon|March 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Vladimir Putin draws on his background as a master spy, testing and teasing the new regime in Kiev and its backers in Washington.
Putin’s Shadow Shock Troops Roil Ukraine|Christopher Dickey|February 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The pair traveled to Penn Hills at least a dozen times over three months, teasing out the nuances and former life of the property.
A Most Illegal Adventure with New York City’s Wildest Underground Event Planners|Nina Strochlic|December 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST
He was furious at the situation and at Mamise for teasing him so.
The Cup of Fury|Rupert Hughes
Gerda took her room-mates' teasing, as she took everything else at the Dower House, with little or no remonstrance.
The School by the Sea|Angela Brazil
"I think some of the girls at Zinsheimer's had been teasing him about me," she goes on.
Torchy and Vee|Sewell Ford
But for all his teasing the big boys never bullied Ned, for all of them loved his bright, intelligent face and manly ways.
Irish Ned|Samuel Fea
Teasing is not the primary cause of the tendency to conceal the emotion.
A Preliminary Study of the Emotion of Love between the Sexes|Sanford Bell

British Dictionary definitions for teasing

tease

/ (tiːz) /

verb

to annoy (someone) by deliberately offering something with the intention of delaying or withdrawing the offer

to arouse sexual desire in (someone) with no intention of satisfying it

to vex (someone) maliciously or playfully, esp by ridicule

(tr) to separate the fibres of; comb; card

(tr) to raise the nap of (a fabric) with a teasel

Also: backcomb US and Canadian 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

Word Origin for tease

Old English tǣsan; related to Old High German zeisan to pick

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for teasing (1 of 2)

tease

"one who teases," 1852, from tease (v.). Specifically as short for cock-teaser, it was in use by 1976.

Word Origin and History for teasing (1 of 2)

tease

Old English tæsan "pluck, pull apart" (fibers of wool, flax, etc.), from West Germanic *taisijanan (cf. Danish tæse, Middle Dutch tesen, Dutch tezen "to draw, pull, scratch," Old High German zeisan "to tease, pick wool").

The original sense is of running thorns through wool or flax to separate, shred, or card the fibers. The figurative sense of "vex, worry, annoy" emerged 1610s. For similar sense development, see heckle. Hairdressing sense is recorded from 1957.

Medicine definitions for teasing

tease

[ tēz ]

v.

To separate the structural parts of a tissue, as with a needle, in order to prepare it for microscopic examination.

tease

verb (used with object), teased, teas·ing.

verb (used without object), teased, teas·ing.

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of tease

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for teasing

British Dictionary definitions for teasing

tease

verb

noun

Word Origin for tease

Word Origin and History for teasing (1 of 2)

tease

Word Origin and History for teasing (1 of 2)

tease

Medicine definitions for teasing

tease

v.