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
Relevance
as in jeer
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
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.
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Recent Examples of taunt
Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 6 Feb. 2026
This question has tantalized and taunted Bulls fans for years — and this trade deadline is no different.
—Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 5 Feb. 2026
Emma Sarappo, The Atlantic, 2 Jan. 2026
The taunt immediately caught Ballerini’s attention.
—Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Dec. 2025
Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2026
That’s when the official threw the flag for taunting.
—Saad Yousuf, New York Times, 26 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for taunt
Verb
Another child care center director recounted how vehicles full of taunting men have driven by more than once.
—Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 6 Feb. 2026
This question has tantalized and taunted Bulls fans for years — and this trade deadline is no different.
—Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 5 Feb. 2026
Noun
Gradually, those missives evolve from hostile taunts to flirtation and then settle on passionate, effusive, unlikely love, which runs contrary to their missions.
—Emma Sarappo, The Atlantic, 2 Jan. 2026
The taunt immediately caught Ballerini’s attention.
—Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Dec. 2025
Verb
The emotions twice resulted in technical fouls against Brentwood players for taunting.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2026
That’s when the official threw the flag for taunting.
—Saad Yousuf, New York Times, 26 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for taunt
Recent Examples of Synonyms for taunt
Noun
-
There was a second of stunned silence before the room erupted in boos and jeers.—
JJ Holmes,
The Orlando Sentinel,
8 Feb. 2026
-
During the opening ceremony, Team USA athletes were cheered on, but jeers and whistles could be heard as Vance and his wife, second lady Usha Vance, were shown on the stadium screens, waving American flags from the tribune.—
Fernanda Figueroa,
Fortune,
8 Feb. 2026
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
Noun
-
Sure, the scatalogical title and prurient lyrics reflected the band's age — Armstrong was fresh out of his teens at the time — but its punk sneer was rooted in sophisticated songcraft.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Feb. 2026
-
The obsequiousness, the sneers, the boasting, the vacant generalities, and the hand-waving bespeak fear of departing from the Trumpian orthodoxy of the moment.—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
29 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The revelation quickly made headlines, and the social-media peanut gallery was sharply derisive.—
Emma Sandler,
Vogue,
15 Dec. 2025
-
There is nothing quite like experiencing a truly terrible film with a room full of gleefully derisive bad-movie fans.—
Randy McMullen,
Mercury News,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Where Vance seems only to have desired to berate and insult, there was something more urgently coaxing in Rubio’s tone.—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
17 Feb. 2026
-
Employees at an El Dorado Hills fast food restaurant went on a one-day strike, after a manager reportedly flung insults and acted unprofessionally to Latino workers.—
Camila Pedrosa,
Sacbee.com,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
This already feels like the steal of the mock.—
Nick Baumgardner,
New York Times,
9 Feb. 2026
-
With a new defensive coordinator and numerous holes to fill on defense, the early NFL mock drafts are heavily assuming that the Dallas Cowboys will be going double-defensive players with their pair of first-round picks in April.—
SportsDay Staff,
Dallas Morning News,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Leno later said he felt humiliated by Kimmel’s jibe.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
19 Sep. 2025
-
The foolishness of the governor’s gibe was underscored by the progressive, staunchly anti-Trump Democratic mayor of San Jose.—
U T Editorial Board,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
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
Cite this Entry
“Taunt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/taunt. Accessed 20 Feb. 2026.
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