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
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Recent Examples of taunting
Zach Berman, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
Rodgers held up his hand to his ear, taunting the fans who were talking smack to him.
—Michael Gallagher, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Sep. 2025
The jury saw extensive emails between Donna and Wendi that showed how Donna pushed Wendi to pursue relocation to South Florida at any cost, including offering her ex-husband $1 million and taunting him with the possibility of converting their kids from Judaism to Catholicism.
—Lauren Del Valle, CNN Money, 6 Sep. 2025
Trump has also threatened to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell, often taunting him with name-calling.
—Alex Veiga, Chicago Tribune, 27 Aug. 2025
That entanglement allowed Biden to traverse the country haranguing business on equity, climate, daycare, union labor, and other whole-of-government crusades—while taunting Republicans who relented for the sake of home-district dollars.
—Clyde Wayne Crews Jr, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Vulgar, taunting texts blow up the phones of a Michigan teen and her boyfriend.
—Ryan Schwartz, TVLine, 23 Aug. 2025
Along with some shockingly gruesome slides (lots of intestines and Jack the Ripper–style organ removal), Wallace shares that the New York Ripper is still traumatizing the relatives of his victims by leaving voice-mails taunting them about his brutal crimes.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 15 Aug. 2025
Kivel’s narration remains droll and nonchalant, practically taunting the reader, as Evie’s circumstances become more and more absurd.
—Lora Kelley, New Yorker, 7 Aug. 2025
Adjective
In addition to Carter’s disqualification, Nolan Smith was flagged for taunting and roughing the quarterback.
—Zach Berman, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
Rodgers held up his hand to his ear, taunting the fans who were talking smack to him.
—Michael Gallagher, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Sep. 2025
The jury saw extensive emails between Donna and Wendi that showed how Donna pushed Wendi to pursue relocation to South Florida at any cost, including offering her ex-husband $1 million and taunting him with the possibility of converting their kids from Judaism to Catholicism.
—Lauren Del Valle, CNN Money, 6 Sep. 2025
Trump has also threatened to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell, often taunting him with name-calling.
—Alex Veiga, Chicago Tribune, 27 Aug. 2025
That entanglement allowed Biden to traverse the country haranguing business on equity, climate, daycare, union labor, and other whole-of-government crusades—while taunting Republicans who relented for the sake of home-district dollars.
—Clyde Wayne Crews Jr, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Vulgar, taunting texts blow up the phones of a Michigan teen and her boyfriend.
—Ryan Schwartz, TVLine, 23 Aug. 2025
Along with some shockingly gruesome slides (lots of intestines and Jack the Ripper–style organ removal), Wallace shares that the New York Ripper is still traumatizing the relatives of his victims by leaving voice-mails taunting them about his brutal crimes.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 15 Aug. 2025
Kivel’s narration remains droll and nonchalant, practically taunting the reader, as Evie’s circumstances become more and more absurd.
—Lora Kelley, New Yorker, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for taunting
Verb
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Gunn has been teasing this new feature for weeks, saying that his next project won’t be a direct sequel to Superman, but will feature characters audiences already know from his summer hit.—
Aaron Couch,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Sep. 2025
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The radio host was set to return to his SiriusXM show this morning, after nearly a month of teasing a big reveal surrounding rumors that his show would be canceled.—
Jodi Guglielmi,
Rolling Stone,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The key to his performance is empathy — Early resists mocking Maddie or her struggles at every turn.—
Jourdain Searles,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Sep. 2025
-
This is all on top of the late-night TV and social media posts mocking him, countless Democrats campaigning against him, and endless news and opinion articles calling him everything from a felon to a rapist to a threat to democracy to Hitler.—
Matt Fleming,
Oc Register,
6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The intensity of Irish expressions of solidarity in 2024 caused one pro-Israel commentator, Ben Cohen, to coin the term Paddystinian as a derisive epithet to counter the narrative.—
Philip Metres
August 27,
Literary Hub,
27 Aug. 2025
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Wall Street reacted to the delays with a derisive nickname TACO, for Trump Always Chickens Out.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
11 July 2025
Adjective
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Vice President Vance appeared on FOX News Channel’s The Ingraham Angle hours after the heckling incident, telling the host about visiting with the national guardsmen and discussing recent changes to the city, while briefly mentioning the protesters.—
Jillian Frankel,
People.com,
21 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Where internet trolls often come off as flippant or spiteful, there is a relentless sense of play and mastery of language in even McNally’s most needling posts.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
5 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Taunting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/taunting. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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