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
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Recent Examples of taunting
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
This week, Ben-Gvir sparked global outrage after promoting a video of himself taunting detained flotilla activists.
—Los Angeles Times, 23 May 2026
His incarceration doesn't last long, though, because a taunting serial killer spurs a prison break.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 22 May 2026
Among his most controversial posts was sharing a video in 2024 of University of Mississippi students, nearly all of them white males, taunting a Black woman.
—ABC News, 18 May 2026
This time around, a serial stalker hunts down men and women alike, taunting them with videos filmed of them and rhyming texts, the detectives trying to track potential victims and save them before they’re killed.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 16 May 2026
Hide and Seek follows a new string of murders featuring a dangerous stalker who kidnaps their victims before killing them, taunting them via text in the format of a popular Danish children’s counting rhyme (though the words chosen by the killer are far more violent).
—Barry Levitt, Time, 7 May 2026
For a brief moment, there was a new 48-hour countdown taunting us on Taylor Swift’s website.
—Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 1 May 2026
Verb
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
This week, Ben-Gvir sparked global outrage after promoting a video of himself taunting detained flotilla activists.
—Los Angeles Times, 23 May 2026
His incarceration doesn't last long, though, because a taunting serial killer spurs a prison break.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 22 May 2026
Among his most controversial posts was sharing a video in 2024 of University of Mississippi students, nearly all of them white males, taunting a Black woman.
—ABC News, 18 May 2026
This time around, a serial stalker hunts down men and women alike, taunting them with videos filmed of them and rhyming texts, the detectives trying to track potential victims and save them before they’re killed.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 16 May 2026
Hide and Seek follows a new string of murders featuring a dangerous stalker who kidnaps their victims before killing them, taunting them via text in the format of a popular Danish children’s counting rhyme (though the words chosen by the killer are far more violent).
—Barry Levitt, Time, 7 May 2026
For a brief moment, there was a new 48-hour countdown taunting us on Taylor Swift’s website.
—Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 1 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!—
Jonathan Bernstein,
Rolling Stone,
23 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Off Campus is playing the long game by also teasing the fourth installment in Kennedy’s series, The Goal.—
Kenneal Patterson,
Vanity Fair,
29 May 2026
-
Netflix’s The Boroughs ends with a twist, teasing the future of the series and hinting at the true origin of Mother.—
Dani Di Placido,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
Adjective
-
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.—
Brady Brickner-Wood,
New Yorker,
29 Apr. 2026
-
But this time, American allies have balked at Trump’s request to send warships to help transport oil through the strait, suggesting there is a limit to how far Europe will go to keep Trump onside in Ukraine and demonstrating the upshot of Trump’s derisive attitude toward alliances.—
Christian Edwards,
CNN Money,
16 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Charles Barkley was once spitting mad at a heckling fan, and his expectoration wound up splashing on an 8-year-old girl.—
Jon Greenberg,
New York Times,
22 May 2026
-
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.—
Ashleigh Fields,
The Hill,
22 Jan. 2026
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.—
Ethan Beck,
Pitchfork,
4 May 2026
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For power users, this sort of thing can’t help but read as needling, even petty platform quirks.—
Eric Vilas-Boas,
Vulture,
10 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Taunting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/taunting. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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