as in teasing
to attack repeatedly with mean put-downs or insults
the principal reminded the student athletes that taunting their opponents was not showing good sportsmanship
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of taunting
Jeff Ihaza,
Rolling Stone,
25 June 2026
Neither incidents involved taunting players from the opposing team, and both of those techs have reportedly been rescinded.
—
Tracy Brown,
Los Angeles Times,
23 June 2026
Some of the people in that group began taunting and jeering at the dancing men, some of whom were shirtless and wearing bathing suits.
—
CBS News,
9 June 2026
Then Tate started openly taunting his accusers.
—
Heidi Blake,
New Yorker,
8 June 2026
Set in the fictional town of Derry, Maine, a group of outcast kids must survive the taunting sewer-dwelling clown, who forces them to confront their deepest fears.
—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 June 2026
Fans booed as Jade Cargill took control early, taunting Rhea with pushups.
—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
Afroman published songs and music videos taunting the deputies.
—
Andrew Graham
may 28,
Sacbee.com,
28 May 2026
The days of some taunting him when Palace squeezed past Wolverhampton Wanderers earlier this season are in the past.
—
Matt Woosnam,
New York Times,
25 May 2026
Verb
The groove passes between them without ever quite resolving, each jolt followed by a pocket of silence that feels almost taunting.
—
Jeff Ihaza,
Rolling Stone,
25 June 2026
Neither incidents involved taunting players from the opposing team, and both of those techs have reportedly been rescinded.
—
Tracy Brown,
Los Angeles Times,
23 June 2026
Some of the people in that group began taunting and jeering at the dancing men, some of whom were shirtless and wearing bathing suits.
—
CBS News,
9 June 2026
Then Tate started openly taunting his accusers.
—
Heidi Blake,
New Yorker,
8 June 2026
Set in the fictional town of Derry, Maine, a group of outcast kids must survive the taunting sewer-dwelling clown, who forces them to confront their deepest fears.
—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 June 2026
Fans booed as Jade Cargill took control early, taunting Rhea with pushups.
—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
Afroman published songs and music videos taunting the deputies.
—
Andrew Graham
may 28,
Sacbee.com,
28 May 2026
The days of some taunting him when Palace squeezed past Wolverhampton Wanderers earlier this season are in the past.
—
Matt Woosnam,
New York Times,
25 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for taunting
Adjective
-
To get a sense of his whole deal, look no further than the half-mocking, half-earnest title of his latest album, Country!
Verb
-
The pop singer has been teasing her return to music over the past few weeks with cryptic posts on social media featuring various images accompanied locations, dates and times.
-
Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google, took over as chief executive of Relativity a little more than a year ago, teasing new areas of focus such as orbital data centers, philanthropic space science ventures, and national security missions.
Adjective
-
Bolstered by a $10 million advertising campaign, the works were destined to be shown in a series of one hundred and fifty exhibitions and events intended to counter Americans’ derisive views of Mexico.
-
Educators were fired for making insensitive comments about him on their personal social-media accounts; a firefighter in Toledo lost his job for posting a derisive eulogy on Facebook; various airline employees were suspended for disparaging Kirk online.
Adjective
-
Charles Barkley was once spitting mad at a heckling fan, and his expectoration wound up splashing on an 8-year-old girl.
-
Reuters reported that BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, who hosted the dinner of some 200 people as co-chair of the World Economic Forum, ended the dinner after the heckling incident — before dessert was served.
Adjective
-
Then, Metric’s peak came on 2009’s Fantasies, which paired needling electronics with thumping drum programming; both it and its follow-up, Synthetica, hit the top 10 on the Canadian albums chart and went platinum in Canada.
-
For power users, this sort of thing can’t help but read as needling, even petty platform quirks.
Cite this Entry
“Taunting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/taunting. Accessed 1 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
