1
as in tormenter
a person who causes repeated emotional pain, distress, or annoyance to another
she can be a very cruel tease when she happens upon an unpopular girl who is easily hurt
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in nuisance
one who is obnoxiously annoying
my youngest brother is a complete tease, following me around everywhere and aping my every move
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to joke
to make fun of in a good-natured way
likes to tease her twin brother about his seemingly endless string of girlfriends
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in to taunt
to attack repeatedly with mean put-downs or insults
grew up being teased because his parents were hog farmers
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tease
Rowan Fisher-Shotton, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Oct. 2025
And, the brothers tease, Eddie’s (Joseph Quinn) sacrifice in the penultimate season will have a deep impact on Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) in Season 5.
—Eliana Dockterman, Time, 16 Oct. 2025
Jordan Greene, PEOPLE, 20 Oct. 2025
While Bill and dad Arthur have yet to be officially cast, HBO did tease that another Weasley sibling will soon be on their way to television screens.
—Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tease
Noun
The Instagram tease on Friday is the clearest signal yet that Brady and his partners are considering another major media event; no official date, platform or producers have been confirmed at the time of writing.
—Rowan Fisher-Shotton, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Oct. 2025
And, the brothers tease, Eddie’s (Joseph Quinn) sacrifice in the penultimate season will have a deep impact on Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) in Season 5.
—Eliana Dockterman, Time, 16 Oct. 2025
Verb
However, his Inter-supporting friends had plenty of fun teasing him about his team’s struggles — especially since Inter performed much better, competing for both the Serie A title (Italy’s top league) and the Champions League (Europe’s most prestigious competition).
—Jordan Greene, PEOPLE, 20 Oct. 2025
While Bill and dad Arthur have yet to be officially cast, HBO did tease that another Weasley sibling will soon be on their way to television screens.
—Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tease
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tease
Noun
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Lorincz, who is white, hated loud noise, and called police and first responders multiple times over the years claiming the children were trespassing, bothersome, threatening, and a nuisance.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
17 Oct. 2025
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Establishing a track record of violations could potentially help the city in future civil suits brought against the Eco Motel, or any other property considered a nuisance.—
Matthew Adams,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Egan, who was nominated for her role as Chelsea Lawson in The Young and the Restless, which she's played since 2011, joked about her chances to win this year in an Instagram post following the nominations.—
Julia Moore,
PEOPLE,
18 Oct. 2025
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Heat coach Erik Spoelstra joked.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
18 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In 2023, the mother of two was enlisted by investigators to determine whether the man who once terrorized Wichita, Kansas, and taunted police during a 17-year murder spree might be linked to other unsolved killings.—
Stephanie Nolasco,
FOXNews.com,
19 Oct. 2025
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However, the league seemingly deemed his actions not punishment-worthy, saving Mahomes from an $11,593 first-offense taunting penalty.—
Michael Gallagher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Earlier this week, SNL shared a teaser video for the episode featuring Carpenter and cast member Marcello Hernández.—
Tomás Mier,
Rolling Stone,
17 Oct. 2025
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The teaser video that followed showed a device straight out of a sci-fi film, something between Wall-E and BB-8, with a camera that giggles and swivels on command.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
15 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The Democratic National Committee congratulated Mamdani on his win but is hardly sending resources to a race that has drawn annoyance from the typical raft of consultants still trying to figure out what, exactly, the party can sell in the next cycle.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
16 Oct. 2025
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Kate’s annoyance at her decoy agent having bird’s nest hair is a similarly dry delight.—
Sophie Brookover,
Vulture,
16 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Just before Thursday’s taping Pence and Emanual met outside the greenroom, and each greeted each other warmly, quickly asking each other questions about their kids before anything else, while kidding with each other about a long unpaid bet.—
Ted Johnson,
Deadline,
10 Oct. 2025
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Okay, kidding about that last part.—
Elizabeth Logan,
Glamour,
7 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The documentary tells the true story of a teenage couple relentlessly bullied via text by an anonymous harasser.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Simply the possibility of taking some kind of revenge on the man who may or may not have been their torturer suddenly becomes an existential fact each person must confront in his or her own way.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
17 Oct. 2025
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For decades, generals, coup-plotters, and torturers walked free under the shield of amnesty laws passed after the country’s 21-year dictatorship.—
Julia Vargas Jones,
CNN Money,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tease.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tease. Accessed 24 Oct. 2025.
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