as in harassment
the act of making unwelcome intrusions upon another
stop that teasing before you make the baby cry
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in kidding
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 mocking
to attack repeatedly with mean put-downs or insults
grew up being teased because his parents were hog farmers
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in joking
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
2
as in taunting
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of teasing
Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025
The back of the knee is a surprisingly erotic spot, sensitive to light touch and teasing.
—Essence, 11 Sep. 2025
For millennials, this constant critique may start to feel less like harmless teasing.
—Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
Kathy Griffin has apologized for her relentless teasing of Anna Nicole Smith in her early-aughts comedy acts.
—EW.com, 27 Aug. 2025
The tension, the banter and the teasing built up for a truly seductive read.
—Taryn Finley, Refinery29, 26 Aug. 2025
Many brushed aside the cheeky clip as mischievous teasing between teammates at the time.
—Doha Madani, NBC news, 26 Aug. 2025
In the comments of his new TikTok teasing the piece, Harris also explained that Reyez — despite Cyrus’ previous involvement — has always been a part of the upcoming song.
—Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 19 Aug. 2025
After a barrage of freaky, teasing scares, and a lot of ominous attention directed at Alex’s house, where something evil is clearly going on, Weapons gambles on providing solutions.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 15 Aug. 2025
Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Oct. 2025
Emerald Fennell is teasing her film adaptation of Wuthering Heights, which garnered significant attention following the release of the trailer earlier this month.
—Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 29 Sep. 2025
Jean performed cheeriness after the waitress left with their order, raising her voice over the music and talking ceaselessly, asking Sylvester about his senior schedule and teasing him about his new Nelly style.
—David Wright Faladé, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2025
Despite initially teasing a retirement from touring back in 2022, the band has decided to reverse course and get their wigs back into fighting shape.
—Devon Ivie, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2025
The singer has been busy lately teasing the follow-up to his 2022 sophomore LP, Faith in the Future, telling fans earlier this month that the untitled album is nearly complete.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 24 Sep. 2025
Trump had been teasing the announcement for days, as Kennedy pledged to determine the cause of the developmental disorder by September.
—Mahalia Dobson, NBC news, 23 Sep. 2025
Just a few hours later, Santana logged onto social media, himself, from his hospital bed teasing his upcoming project.
—Amber Corrine, VIBE.com, 22 Sep. 2025
Another is Theocritus of Chios, executed for teasing his one-eyed king.
—Toni Fitzgerald, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Verb
Each moment of humor or playful teasing becomes a small affirmation of connection, much like capitalization moments, that reinforces trust and a sense of belonging.
—Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025
The back of the knee is a surprisingly erotic spot, sensitive to light touch and teasing.
—Essence, 11 Sep. 2025
For millennials, this constant critique may start to feel less like harmless teasing.
—Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
Kathy Griffin has apologized for her relentless teasing of Anna Nicole Smith in her early-aughts comedy acts.
—EW.com, 27 Aug. 2025
The tension, the banter and the teasing built up for a truly seductive read.
—Taryn Finley, Refinery29, 26 Aug. 2025
Many brushed aside the cheeky clip as mischievous teasing between teammates at the time.
—Doha Madani, NBC news, 26 Aug. 2025
In the comments of his new TikTok teasing the piece, Harris also explained that Reyez — despite Cyrus’ previous involvement — has always been a part of the upcoming song.
—Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 19 Aug. 2025
After a barrage of freaky, teasing scares, and a lot of ominous attention directed at Alex’s house, where something evil is clearly going on, Weapons gambles on providing solutions.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 15 Aug. 2025
Adjective
As of this writing, there's no official trailer for Interview With the Vampire season 3, though AMC did drop a teaser teasing Lestat's life as a rock icon.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Oct. 2025
Emerald Fennell is teasing her film adaptation of Wuthering Heights, which garnered significant attention following the release of the trailer earlier this month.
—Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 29 Sep. 2025
Jean performed cheeriness after the waitress left with their order, raising her voice over the music and talking ceaselessly, asking Sylvester about his senior schedule and teasing him about his new Nelly style.
—David Wright Faladé, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2025
Despite initially teasing a retirement from touring back in 2022, the band has decided to reverse course and get their wigs back into fighting shape.
—Devon Ivie, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2025
The singer has been busy lately teasing the follow-up to his 2022 sophomore LP, Faith in the Future, telling fans earlier this month that the untitled album is nearly complete.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 24 Sep. 2025
Trump had been teasing the announcement for days, as Kennedy pledged to determine the cause of the developmental disorder by September.
—Mahalia Dobson, NBC news, 23 Sep. 2025
Just a few hours later, Santana logged onto social media, himself, from his hospital bed teasing his upcoming project.
—Amber Corrine, VIBE.com, 22 Sep. 2025
Another is Theocritus of Chios, executed for teasing his one-eyed king.
—Toni Fitzgerald, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for teasing
Noun
-
For the better part of the 2010s, Twitter struggled to balance a desire for free-speech maximalism with scattershot attempts to quell harassment on the platform.—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
1 Oct. 2025
-
Bukele had been waging a harassment campaign against El Faro, which had aggressively covered corruption in his government.—
T. Christian Miller,
ProPublica,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
When Brian Kilmeade complained about the size, joking that sandwiches this large often require a fork, Han offered some playful advice.—
Khloe Quill,
FOXNews.com,
29 Sep. 2025
-
Mars just kind of came joking around because that sounds bigger than life.—
Jodi Guglielmi,
PEOPLE,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
During the game in the first quarter, DeJean was called for an unsportsmanlike penalty for taunting.—
Evan Massey,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Sep. 2025
-
Joe LaCava violated Rory’s airspace on the 18th green while taunting the same gallery that had teased his player, Patrick Cantlay, who had reportedly declined to wear a team hat to protest the lack of player compensation at such a big event.—
Ian O'Connor,
New York Times,
24 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Carrie Bradshaw, frankly, has always been a mess — a beautiful, cringe-inducing, selfish, couture-wearing mess.—
Lyz Lenz,
Rolling Stone,
16 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Pat Kelsey wasn't kidding about wanting the smoke.—
Leo Bertucci,
The Courier-Journal,
2 Sep. 2025
-
In 2019, Lebanese depositors discovered that their banking system had, in effect, just been kidding about those savings accounts.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Authoritarians historically come for the comics first, and most recently under Putin, satirist Idrak Mirzalizade was jailed and deported for mocking Russian housing.—
Lizz Winstead,
Time,
27 Sep. 2025
-
Brian stumbles back to his father’s tent, where an angry Simon takes his frustration over Uncle Mac’s mocking out on his son.—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
26 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
But not everyone qualifies for — or wants — asylum, attorneys said, and filing a frivolous claim risks steeper, even lifelong, penalties.—
Sam Tabachnik,
Denver Post,
22 Sep. 2025
-
Since the 2024 election, the news had become relentless, daily cruelties laid out so matter-of-factly that creativity seemed frivolous, even pointless.—
Karen Palmer
September 19,
Literary Hub,
19 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Hungary provides an inspiring example as country of honor thanks to its strong track-record in preservation and circulation through events such as the Budapest Classic Film Marathon.—
Lise Pedersen,
Variety,
3 Oct. 2025
-
In an inspiring act of kindness and generosity, tournament angler Tripp Berlinsky turned the biggest win of his college fishing career into an opportunity to give back.—
Dac Collins,
Outdoor Life,
2 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Teasing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/teasing. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
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