Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

tease

[teez]
See more synonyms for tease on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object), teased, teas·ing.
  1. to irritate or provoke with persistent petty distractions, trifling raillery, or other annoyance, often in sport.
  2. to pull apart or separate the adhering fibers of (wool or the like), as in combing or carding; comb or card, as wool; shred.
  3. to ruffle (the hair) by holding it at the ends and combing toward the scalp so as to give body to a hairdo.
  4. to raise a nap on (cloth) with teasels; teasel.
  5. 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.
Show More
verb (used without object), teased, teas·ing.
  1. to provoke or disturb a person or animal by importunity or persistent petty annoyances.
Show More
noun
  1. a person who teases or annoys.
  2. the act of teasing or the state of being teased.
Show More

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

Synonyms

See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com
1. trouble, disturb, vex; harass.

Synonym study

1. See bother.

Antonyms

1. mollify.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

mockingirritatingjokingribbingbotheringtormentingdisturbingprovokingexasperatingvexingkiddingplaguingtauntingbadgeringharassing

Examples from the Web for teasing

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • It suited his whim, and it did more than that: it gave him a chance to speak to her in his teasing way.

    K

    Mary Roberts Rinehart

  • Napoleon flushed with anger, enraged both at the intrusion and the teasing.

  • No; the spirit of a lion is not to be roused by the teasing of an insect.

  • She smiled faintly, vaguely, tolerantly, as if she enjoyed his pleasure in teasing her.

    Questionable Shapes

    William Dean Howells

  • "I know," answered Bart, for he had a habit of teasing his sister.

British Dictionary definitions for teasing

tease

verb
  1. to annoy (someone) by deliberately offering something with the intention of delaying or withdrawing the offer
  2. to arouse sexual desire in (someone) with no intention of satisfying it
  3. to vex (someone) maliciously or playfully, esp by ridicule
  4. (tr) to separate the fibres of; comb; card
  5. (tr) to raise the nap of (a fabric) with a teasel
  6. Also: backcomb US and Canadian to comb the under layers of (the hair) towards the roots to give more bulk to a hairstyle
  7. (tr) to loosen or pull apart (biological tissues, etc) by delicate agitation or prodding with an instrument
Show More
noun
  1. a person or thing that teases
  2. the act of teasing
Show More
See also tease out
Derived Formsteasing, adjectiveteasingly, adverb

Word Origin

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

tease

n.

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

Show More

tease

v.

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.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
teasing in Medicine

tease

(tēz)
v.
  1. To separate the structural parts of a tissue, as with a needle, in order to prepare it for microscopic examination.
Show More
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.