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- Dictionarytease/tiːz/
verb
- 1. make fun of or attempt to provoke (a person or animal) in a playful way: "I used to tease her about being so house-proud"
- 2. gently pull or comb (tangled wool, hair, etc.) into separate strands: "she was teasing out the curls into her usual hairstyle"
noun
- 1. a person who makes fun of someone playfully or unkindly: informal "some think of him as a tease who likes to keep others guessing"
- 2. an act of teasing someone: "she couldn't resist a gentle tease"
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to intentionally annoy a person or animal by saying something that is not true or pretending to do something, often in a playful way: [ T ] Don’t tease the dog by showing her the treat if you’re not going to give it to her. [ I ] I was only teasing (= joking), I didn’t mean anything by it.
: to disturb or annoy by persistent irritating or provoking especially in a petty or mischievous way. c. : to annoy with petty persistent requests : pester. also : to obtain by repeated coaxing. d. : to persuade to acquiesce especially by persistent small efforts : coax. e. : to manipulate or influence as if by teasing. 2.
Some common synonyms of tease are annoy, harass, harry, pester, plague, and worry. While all these words mean "to disturb or irritate by persistent acts," tease suggests an attempt to break down one's resistance or rouse to wrath.
- While in some cases nearly identical to tease, annoy implies disturbing one's composure or peace of mind by intrusion, interference, or petty attac...
- In some situations, the words harass and tease are roughly equivalent. However, harass implies petty persecutions or burdensome demands that exhaus...
- Although the words harry and tease have much in common, harry may imply heavy oppression or maltreatment. // the strikers had been harried by thugs
- The synonyms pester and tease are sometimes interchangeable, but pester stresses the repetition of petty attacks. // constantly pestered with trivi...
- The words plague and tease can be used in similar contexts, but plague implies a painful and persistent affliction. // plagued all her life by poverty
- The words worry and tease are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, worry implies an incessant goading or attacking that drives one to d...
Tease definition: to irritate or provoke with persistent petty distractions, trifling jests, or other annoyances, often in a playful way. See examples of TEASE used in a sentence.
verb. These are words and phrases related to tease. Click on any word or phrase to go to its thesaurus page. Or, go to the definition of tease. Everyone teased him about his affected accent. Don't tease that cat or it will scratch you.
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tease in British English. (tiːz ) 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.
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.
