tease

verb

\ ˈtēz

teased; teasing

Definition of tease

(Entry 1 of 2)

transitive verb

1a : to make fun of : kid

b : 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 : to comb (hair) by taking hold of a strand and pushing the short hairs toward the scalp with the comb

3 : to tantalize especially by arousing desire or curiosity often without intending to satisfy it

4a : to disentangle and lay parallel by combing or carding tease wool

b : teasel

5 : to tear in pieces especially : to shred (a tissue or specimen) for microscopic examination

tease

noun

Definition of tease (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : the act of teasing : the state of being teased

2 : one that teases

Other Words from tease Synonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about tease

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Choose the Right Synonym for tease

Verb

worry, annoy, harass, harry, plague, pester, tease mean to disturb or irritate by persistent acts. worry implies an incessant goading or attacking that drives one to desperation. pursued a policy of worrying the enemy annoy implies disturbing one's composure or peace of mind by intrusion, interference, or petty attacks. you're doing that just to annoy me harass implies petty persecutions or burdensome demands that exhaust one's nervous or mental power. harassed on all sides by creditors harry may imply heavy oppression or maltreatment. the strikers had been harried by thugs plague implies a painful and persistent affliction. plagued all her life by poverty pester stresses the repetition of petty attacks. constantly pestered with trivial complaints tease suggests an attempt to break down one's resistance or rouse to wrath. children teased the dog

Examples of tease in a Sentence

Verb

He and his wife enjoy teasing each other about their different tastes in music. The other children teased her because she was wearing braces. He was always teased by his brother about being short. Oh, don't get so angry. I was just teasing! The boy's mother told him to stop teasing the dog.

Noun

a pretty girl who has the reputation of being a bit of a tease The lower rate is just a tease to attract new customers.

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

But in 2018, Jeffree took to Twitter to shade Kat again by teasing her about her line being on sale at Marshall's. — Jasmine Gomez, Seventeen, "Everything You Need to Know About Makeup Guru Jeffree Star," 9 Apr. 2019 The Mother of Dragons hilariously teased her costar Kit Harington (Jon Snow) for complaining that his GoT shoots are intense. — Abby Gardner, Glamour, "Emilia Clarke Just Called Out Kit Harington for Complaining About His Game of Thrones Shoots," 3 Apr. 2019 Kos has also teased long-haul flights from Buenos Aires—to places like Istanbul, Los Angeles, Madrid, Miami, and Milan—but Argentina’s Department of Transportation hasn’t approved these routes just yet. — Katherine Lagrave, Condé Nast Traveler, "Norwegian Air Argentina: The New Airline Set to Improve Your Next Trip to South America," 27 Aug. 2018 The launch was not a surprise: Epic had been teasing it for weeks, with a countdown displayed on certain in-game TVs and a loud klaxon alarm blaring from the mountain, which was also home to an supervillain-style lair. — Andrew Webster, The Verge, "Fortnite has the most interesting video game story in years," 2 July 2018 As teased in the cover's blurb, the angle around his interview with The Observer focuses on Shawn's global success and how he's skyrocketed to becoming one of the biggest pop stars in 2019. — Allie Gemmill, Teen Vogue, "Justin Bieber Jokingly Challenged Shawn Mendes on His "Prince of Pop" Title," 8 Apr. 2019 The delightful Dolly Parton soundtrack teased in the trailer may have hooked us. — Taysha Murtaugh, Country Living, "Everyone Is Obsessed With Netflix's New 'Dumplin'' Movie," 10 Dec. 2018 The show teased this new set on Twitter in July 2018. — Christopher Rosa, Glamour, "'Stranger Things' Season 3: Everything We Know So Far," 10 Dec. 2018 No spoilers, but as teased in the credits of To All the Boys, the recipient of yet another of Lara Jean’s love letters, her childhood friend and crush John Ambrose McClaren, returns to her life. — Michelle Ruiz, Vogue, "To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before," 27 Nov. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

The South American flavors provided a tease of Chila, Andrés Porcel’s remarkable restaurant where Bargero serves as executive chef. — Ian Malone, Vogue, "Daniel Bouloud Hosts a Decadent Dinner in Support of Citymeals on Wheels," 12 Mar. 2019 Before the year was up, Samsung began priming the pump for 2019, with teases of a new foldable smartphone that will be released next year. — Dan Seifert, The Verge, "The Verge 2018 tech report card: Samsung," 26 Dec. 2018 Step 2: To add extra volume, use a wide-tooth comb and tease from tip to root. — Laurie Espino, Seventeen, "Tips to Getting Lucy Hale's Messy Bun," 18 Apr. 2012 Then pat and shape the area and use hair from the temples to secure the teases area in place. — Lauren Rearick, Teen Vogue, "Gigi Hadid Appears on the September "Vogue Brazil" Cover," 29 Aug. 2018 The latter received a much vaguer tease, with nothing more than series character Tom Nook appearing with a brief dialogue passage indicating that a sequel was coming. — Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, "New NES controllers headline announcement-filled Nintendo Switch presentation," 13 Sep. 2018 The teases — that there were four finalists, that the decision would come down to the wire — made for familiar Trumpian theater, public yet opaque, prodding news cycles of excited rumor and mind-reading. — James Poniewozik, New York Times, "Trump’s Reality TV Supreme Court Rollout, Slick and Substance-Free," 10 July 2018 Prior to the song tease, Underwood had teased that something may be coming soon, sharing a picture of herself in the studio as well as a photo of her first rehearsal since her accident. — Taylor Weatherby, Billboard, "Carrie Underwood To Perform New Single at ACM Awards in First Performance Since Accident," 9 Apr. 2018 Now a report from South Korea's Yonhap News Agency adds a few more details to Samsung's secretive tease. — Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, "Samsung’s foldable smartphone reportedly costs $1,770, launches in March," 12 Nov. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tease.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.