tease

1 of 2

verb

teased; teasing

transitive verb

1
a
: 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
4
a
: 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
teasingly adverb

tease

2 of 2

noun

1
: the act of teasing : the state of being teased
2
: one that teases
Choose the Right Synonym for tease

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. See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Every time the cast gets together, fans speculate about the possibility of a reboot — something several of the actors have teased in the past. Emy Lacroix, Peoplemag, 24 Nov. 2023 What’s teased is the budding relationship between Benny and his cousin (Charley Hogan), nicknamed Frybread Face, who shows him the ropes and joins him on (mis)adventures. Los Angeles Times Staff, Los Angeles Times, 22 Nov. 2023 The video teased highlights from interviews with the members. Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 21 Nov. 2023 Fans were quick to jokingly call out the Eagles for invoking Swift in order to more personally tease Travis’ team of reigning Super Bowl champions. Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 21 Nov. 2023 Kat the Label alternates mesh and lace to create a barely-there look that teases the imagination, while Cami NYC uses sheer paneling as a form of structure. Gaby Keiderling, Vogue, 18 Nov. 2023 On iPhones, this changes the color of the bubbles on my side of the conversation from blue to green, which gives my friends something to tease me about. WIRED, 17 Nov. 2023 And about the other kids who have started to tease him about it all. Eli Hager, ProPublica, 16 Nov. 2023 To be sure that movie had a clear advantage in that it was teased in the post-credit scene of 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War, while its titular star was a player in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame (it was released between the two Marvel mega-blockbusters). Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Nov. 2023
Noun
The studio launched a trailer tease the day before the official clip’s drop, and that earned 25 million views in 24 hours. Zack Sharf, Variety, 9 Nov. 2023 As the trailer teases, Woody remains on a mission to find Bonnie and return Forky to the others — but his resolve is tested. Kelsie Gibson, Peoplemag, 7 Nov. 2023 The momentous Monday morning when Phoebe Philo opens her online shop has finally arrived‚ after surely the longest tease in fashion history. Sarah Mower, Vogue, 30 Oct. 2023 Below, during a spoiler conversation with THR, Martin revisits key moments from the first four episodes of Loki season two and teases that the best is yet to come. Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Oct. 2023 The tease also seemed to preview what looked like a music video, with a shot in which Meg bared her vamp fangs again, as well as an image of a bowl of fruit and other totems on an altar. Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 24 Oct. 2023 The title, from Picard’s signature command, is a nod to the starship captain’s primacy in his life, and also perhaps a tease, a hint that herein lie the secrets to the creation of that galactic sense of empathy. WIRED, 3 Oct. 2023 However, even after his confirmation, the pair have been coy about keeping their relationship private, merely sharing teases of it online. Rebecca Aizin, Peoplemag, 12 Oct. 2023 In a tease earlier this week, the band explained that the project was the realization of a dream to connect with some of the other artists who’ve inspired them. Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 5 Oct. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tease.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English tesen, from Old English tǣsan; akin to Old High German zeisan to tease

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 4a

Noun

1680, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of tease was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near tease

Cite this Entry

“Tease.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tease. Accessed 29 Nov. 2023.

Kids Definition

tease

1 of 2 verb
teased; teasing
1
: to untangle and lay parallel by combing or carding
tease wool
2
a
: to annoy continually : pester, torment
b
c
: to make fun of
teaser noun
teasingly adverb

tease

2 of 2 noun
1
a
: the act of teasing
b
: the state of being teased
2
: one that teases

Medical Definition

tease

transitive verb
teased; teasing
: to tear in pieces
especially : to shred (a tissue or specimen) for microscopic examination

More from Merriam-Webster on tease

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