Synonyms of taunt

taunt 1 of 4

verb (1)

ˈtȯnt 

as in to tease

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

• tease
• mock
• annoy
• ridicule
• bother
• heckle
• bait
• ride
• irritate
• pick on
• torture
• needle
• plague
• jeer
• hassle
• haze
• try
• deride
• make game of
• harass
• bully
• trouble
• spite
• gibe
• goad
• irk
• torment
• vex
• rile
• pester
• disturb
• aggravate
• test
• exasperate
• nag
• burn (up)
• persecute
• bug
• peeve
• frost
• gripe
• itch
• ruffle
• badger
• gnaw (at)
• grate
• discomfort
• chafe
• agitate
• fret
• pique
• perturb
• hack (off)
• bedevil
• terrorize
• gall
• aggrieve
• put out
• dog
• hound
• browbeat
• get
• rasp
• nark
• nettle
• beleaguer
• hector
• harry
• hagride

taunt

2 of 4

noun

as in jeer

Related Words

• jeer
• sneer
• insult
• mock
• gibe
• quip
• affront
• slap
• barb
• dart
• slur
• sarcasm
• catcall
• indignity
• outrage
• slight
• abuse
• epithet
• invective
• poke
• vituperation
• disapproval
• dis
• brickbat
• dig
• name
• gird
• put-down
• offense
• attack
• criticism
• personality
• cut
• dishonor
• shame
• opprobrium
• swipe
• disgrace
• knock
• torment
• torture
• slam

Dissimilar Words

• compliment
• praise
• commendation
• applause
• acclaim
• flattery
• accolade
• adulation

taunting

3 of 4

adjective

as in mocking

Related Words

• mocking
• derisive
• baiting
• ridiculing
• heckling
• jeering
• needling
• deriding
• hassling
• derisory
• sarcastic
• contemptuous
• joking
• scornful
• razzing
• bandying
• bantering
• rallying
• quipping
• kidding
• quizzical
• disdainful
• jesting
• fooling
• ribbing
• joshing
• funning
• chaffing

taunting

4 of 4

verb (2)

present participle of taunt

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

• teasing
• mocking
• ridiculing
• bothering
• baiting
• heckling
• annoying
• riding
• hassling
• torturing
• hazing
• needling
• irritating
• jeering
• plaguing
• picking on
• bullying
• troubling
• making game of
• deriding
• trying
• goading
• harassing
• pestering
• tormenting
• spiting
• nagging
• badgering
• disturbing
• gibing
• bugging
• testing
• aggravating
• griping
• irking
• exasperating
• itching
• riling
• nettling
• grating
• vexing
• ruffling
• hounding
• burning (up)
• persecuting
• chafing
• rasping
• fretting
• dogging
• agitating
• discomforting
• perturbing
• browbeating
• frosting
• terrorizing
• gnawing (at)
• piquing
• galling
• narking
• bedeviling
• hectoring
• getting
• hacking (off)
• beleaguering
• peeving
• putting out
• harrying
• hagriding
• aggrieving

Synonym Chooser

How is the word taunt distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of taunt are deride, mock, and ridicule. While all these words mean "to make an object of laughter of," taunt suggests jeeringly provoking insult or challenge.

hometown fans taunted the visiting team

When could deride be used to replace taunt?

The words deride and taunt are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, deride suggests contemptuous and often bitter ridicule.

derided their efforts to start their own business

When would mock be a good substitute for taunt?

Although the words mock and taunt have much in common, mock implies scorn often ironically expressed as by mimicry or sham deference.

youngsters began to mock the helpless wino

In what contexts can ridicule take the place of taunt?

The synonyms ridicule and taunt are sometimes interchangeable, but ridicule implies a deliberate often malicious belittling.

consistently ridiculed everything she said

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of taunt

Verb

Hendry sang, taunting Austin Theory, Logan Paul, Paul Heyman and even Brock Lesnar. — Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026

Tournament favorites France, for example, have so thoroughly taunted and tormented their opponents that anything short of the final would seem an injustice at this point. — Mark Sappenfield, Christian Science Monitor, 30 June 2026

Noun

While on-ice taunts have become rarer due to the risk of drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, content creators have filled the chirping void with ‘golf season’ parodies. — Mike Dojc, Forbes.com, 27 Apr. 2026

The bright, cheery room, decorated with technicolor serapes and paintings of idyllic tropical-village scenes, felt almost like a taunt. — Daniel Brook, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026

Verb

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