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

This comes as no surprise considering how Phillips has teased how dark and disturbing his film will be. — Rosy Cordero, EW.com, "Todd Phillips shares new Joker image of Joaquin Phoenix, confirms film's R rating," 16 June 2019 Microsoft has already teased games like Gears 5 appearing, and even some information on the next-generation Xbox. — Tom Warren, The Verge, "Microsoft launches Xbox Game Pass Ultimate with PC and Xbox games for $14.99 per month," 9 June 2019 Microsoft, Amazon and Apple have all teased plans to deliver online games. — Mike Snider, USA TODAY, "Google plans to press play on its Stadia cloud gaming service in November," 6 June 2019 While the company has teased projects in Chicago and Maryland, those have faced the type of civic hangups (lack of political allies, environmental assessments) that Musk has managed to avoid in his other ventures, including SpaceX and Tesla. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Las Vegas Is Getting a Loop from Elon Musk," 23 May 2019 Stars of the show have been teasing new episodes of GoT weekly since the premiere, but the hype is a little more intense than usual this week with the epic clash ahead. — Erica Gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, "The Game of Thrones Cast Is Getting Us So Scared for the Battle of Winterfell," 29 Apr. 2019 This isn’t the first time Netflix has teased an enigmatic new series with little details —it’s almost a strategy at this point. — Christian Allaire, Vogue, "Renée Zellweger Is Back—We’re Just Not Sure in What, Exactly," 23 Apr. 2019 Shortly after showing off a performance in the latest musical episode of Riverdale, star KJ Apa has teased that more music is apparently on the way, at least from him. — Lauren Rearick, Teen Vogue, "KJ Apa Teased New Music, Likely From His Band the Good Time Boys," 25 Mar. 2019 She's connected the emotional lives of the staff of the royal household and the royals themselves, but the past few episodes have teased what Skerrett's life could be beyond the Palace walls. — Caroline Hallemann, Town & Country, "Victoria Actress Nell Hudson on Why She Didn't Want a Fairytale Ending for Skerrett," 4 Feb. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Season eight likely won't go quite that far down the road, but some sort of tease about the looming Whisperer War is very much in the cards. — Josh Wigler, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Walking Dead' Season 8 Finale: 7 Predictions for the End of "All-Out War"," 9 Apr. 2018 In this and other moves, Daniels has practiced the art of the tease, making headlines with incremental developments while hinting at more to come. — Callum Borchers, Washington Post, "Stormy Daniels is a master at keeping herself in the news," 15 Mar. 2018 Mirage or not, false alarm or not, tease or not, the Mariners have provided two weeks of enjoyment that was not in any script or blueprint. — Larry Stone, The Seattle Times, "Historic or hysterical? Mariners’ magical start borders on the absurd, but oh what fun it is," 12 Apr. 2019 As predicted after its E3 tease, this sequel will follow Doom II's lead from 1994 and bring the new series' demons and terrors of Hell to Earth. — Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, "Doom Eternal ushers in idTech 7, bloody new powers," 10 Aug. 2018 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

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.