Tease Definition and Meaning
By Urooj Arif & Fiza Rafique — Published on March 9, 2024
Tease means to make fun of or attempt to provoke in a playful way. e.g., He liked to tease his friends with good-natured jokes.
Table of Contents
Tease Definitions
To mock or make fun of someone in a playful manner:
She would often tease her brother about his quirky habits.
To comb or brush hair in a way to create volume:
She teased her hair to achieve a fuller look for the party.
To extract or obtain something by gentle persuasion or playful coaxing:
She teased the secret out of her friend with persistent questions.
To provoke or annoy someone with persistent petty distractions:
The older kids teased the younger ones by hiding their toys.
To entice or tempt someone with something appealing:
The preview was designed to tease the audience about the upcoming movie.
To tantalize by presenting something desirable but keeping it just out of reach:
The new ad campaign teased the product's features without revealing too much.
To separate or disentangle the fibers of:
The artisan teased the wool before spinning it into yarn.
To irritate or provoke with slight annoyance or offense:
The incessant buzzing of the fly teased her to the point of distraction.
To playfully suggest or hint at something:
The novelist teased the possibility of a sequel in her last interview.
To playfully flirt or lead someone on without serious intentions:
He was known to tease his admirers, never fully committing.
To make fun of (someone) playfully or taunt annoyingly
Was teased by my classmates for being skinny.
Teased him about driving such a fast car.
To say in a playful or mocking way
"But you're too young to get married," he teased.
To provoke or irritate, as with physical movements
Teased the cat by dangling a string in its face.
To urge persistently; coax
Teased their mother to let them stay up late.
To disentangle and dress the fibers of (wool, for example).
To ruffle (the hair) by combing from the ends toward the scalp for an airy, full effect.
To raise the nap of (cloth) by dressing, as with a fuller's teasel.
To cut (tissue, for example) into pieces for examination.
To extract, identify, or cause to come about. Used with out
The director teased a good performance out of the actors. The researcher teased out the factors involved in the disease.
To annoy or make fun of someone persistently
I was just teasing.
An act of teasing, especially a playfully mocking remark
His tease of his friend's little sister.
A person who makes fun of or annoys others, as with playful or taunting remarks.
A flirtatious person.
(transitive) To separate the fibres of (a fibrous material).
(transitive) To comb (originally with teasels) so that the fibres all lie in one direction.
(transitive) To backcomb.
(transitive) To poke fun at, either cruelly or affectionately.
(transitive) To provoke or disturb; to annoy.
(transitive) To manipulate or influence the behavior of, especially by repeated acts of irritation.
(transitive) To entice, tempt.
To show as forthcoming, in the manner of a teaser.
One who teases.
A single act of teasing.
To comb or card, as wool or flax.
To stratch, as cloth, for the purpose of raising a nap; teasel.
To tear or separate into minute shreds, as with needles or similar instruments.
To vex with importunity or impertinence; to harass, annoy, disturb, or irritate by petty requests, or by jests and raillery; to plague.
He . . . suffered them to tease him into acts directly opposed to his strongest inclinations.
Not by the force of carnal reason,But indefatigable teasing.
In disappointments, where the affections have been strongly placed, and the expectations sanguine, particularly where the agency of others is concerned, sorrow may degenerate into vexation and chagrin.
One who teases or plagues.
Someone given to teasing (as by mocking or stirring curiosity)
The act of harassing someone playfully or maliciously (especially by ridicule); provoking someone with persistent annoyances;
He ignored their teases
His ribbing was gentle but persistent
Annoy persistently;
The children teased the boy because of his stammer
Harass with persistent criticism or carping;
The children teased the new teacher
Don't ride me so hard over my failure
His fellow workers razzed him when he wore a jacket and tie
To arouse hope, desire, or curiosity without satisfying them;
The advertisement is intended to tease the customers
She has a way of teasing men with her flirtatious behavior
Tear into pieces;
Tease tissue for microscopic examinations
Raise the nap of (fabrics)
Disentangle and raise the fibers of;
Tease wool
Separate the fibers of;
Tease wool
Mock or make fun of playfully;
The flirting man teased the young woman
Ruffle (one's hair) by combing towards the ends towards the scalp, for a full effect
Tease Snonyms
Taunt
To provoke or challenge (someone) with insulting remarks.
The older kids taunted him about his braces.
Joke
To say something in jest or playfully, often at someone else's expense.
He's always joking with his friends.
Jest
To act or speak playfully or humorously.
He jested about his fear of heights.
Mock
To tease or laugh at in a scornful or contemptuous manner.
They mocked her homemade dress.
Kid
To tease or fool someone in a playful way.
Don't get upset; I'm just kidding you.
Ridicule
To subject (someone or something) to contemptuous and dismissive language or behavior.
His theories were ridiculed by his colleagues.
Banter
The playful and friendly exchange of teasing remarks.
There was a lot of good-natured banter among the team members.
Chaff
To tease or taunt someone.
He chaffed his friend about losing the game.
Jibe
To make insulting or mocking remarks; jeer.
They jibed him for his outdated style.
Needle
To provoke or annoy someone, especially by continual criticism or questioning.
She needled him about his poor cooking skills.
Tease Idioms & Phrases
Tease into shape
To gently manipulate or coax something into the desired form or state.
The sculptor teased the clay into shape with delicate touches.
Tease to the edge
To bring someone to the brink of something, often excitement or frustration, without completion.
The thrilling novel teased readers to the edge with its cliffhangers.
Tease out the truth
To extract information or the real story through careful questioning or investigation.
With some skill, she was able to tease out the truth from the web of lies.
A tease and a half
Someone who is particularly good at teasing or provoking.
With her witty remarks, she's a tease and a half.
Love to tease
Someone who enjoys making playful or flirtatious jokes.
You can tell he loves to tease; he's always got a cheeky comment ready.
Give a little tease
To offer a small hint or preview of something to come.
The director gave a little tease of the movie's theme during the interview.
All tease, no action
Someone who flirts or hints at something but never follows through.
He's all tease, no action, so I wouldn't expect much.
Tease it out
To carefully draw out or extract something, such as information or a solution.
The team had to tease out the implications of their findings.
Tease the idea
To consider or suggest an idea in a non-serious or playful manner.
They began to tease the idea of moving abroad for a year.
A gentle tease
A very mild and affectionate form of teasing.
Her comments were always a gentle tease, never meant to hurt.
Don't tease me
A plea to stop making fun or to be serious.
Please, don't tease me; I really need to know the truth, she implored.
Tease away the pain
To try to alleviate someone's distress through humor or distraction.
He tried to tease away her pain with his silly jokes.
Can't take a tease
Someone who is sensitive to being teased and does not find it amusing.
Be careful with your jokes around him; he can't take a tease.
Playful tease
An act of teasing done in a light-hearted, fun manner.
Their banter was full of playful teases, making everyone laugh.
Tease for information
To coax or gently probe someone to reveal information.
He was trying to tease for information about the surprise party.
Tease into existence
To create or bring about something through careful effort and coaxing.
The artist teased the portrait into existence with her unique technique.
Tease with possibilities
To excite someone with the potential or possibilities of something.
The travel brochure teased us with possibilities of adventure in exotic locations.
Tease apart the details
To examine or analyze the details carefully to understand something fully.
We need to tease apart the details to see how this mistake happened.
Tease out a solution
To arrive at a solution through a process of careful thought and consideration.
It took hours to tease out a solution to the complex problem.
Tease back to health
To encourage or nurture someone back to a state of well-being, often through positive interaction.
She teased her friend back to health with her constant cheerfulness.
Tease Example Sentences
He loves to tease his sister about her quirky habits.
She would often tease him about his fear of spiders.
The kids at school used to tease her for her bright red hair.
Every time he tried to be serious, she would tease him and make him laugh.
He couldn't resist a good-natured tease when he saw his friend wearing mismatched socks.
Despite her protests, they continued to tease her about the incident.
He liked to tease his coworkers with puzzles and riddles.
She would tease her dog with a treat before giving it to him.
He had a habit of using a light-hearted tease to break the ice in meetings.
She used to tease her hair in the 80s to get that big hair look.
The movie trailers tease the audience with hints of a plot twist.
The wind seemed to tease the leaves, making them rustle softly.
Her friends tease her about being a hopeless romantic.
The older siblings would always tease the youngest about being the baby of the family.
They would tease each other endlessly but knew it was all in good fun.
Common Curiosities
How do we divide tease into syllables?
Tease is a single syllable word and is not divided.
How is tease used in a sentence?
She loved to tease her friends with playful jokes at gatherings.
How many syllables are in tease?
There is 1 syllable in "tease."
What is a stressed syllable in tease?
In "tease," the entire word forms the stressed syllable since it is monosyllabic.
What is the root word of tease?
The root of "tease" comes from the Old English "tæsan" meaning to pluck or pull apart, which evolved to its current meaning of playfully provoking.
What is the first form of tease?
The first (base) form is "tease."
Why is it called tease?
It's called "tease" because it denotes the act of playfully mocking or provoking someone in a light-hearted manner, often with the intention of amusing both parties involved.
What is the third form of tease?
The third (past participle) form is "teased."
What is the pronunciation of tease?
Tease is pronounced as /tiːz/.
What is the second form of tease?
The second (past simple) form is "teased."
What is another term for tease?
Another term for "tease" is "rib" or "jest."
What is the plural form of tease?
The plural form of "tease" (noun) is "teases."
What is the verb form of tease?
"Tease" itself is the base verb form.
Is tease an abstract noun?
As a noun, "tease" refers to a person or action and is not typically considered an abstract noun.
Is tease a countable noun?
As a noun, "tease" is countable, e.g., "She is such a tease."
Is the word tease imperative?
"Tease" can be used in the imperative mood as a command, e.g., "Tease your hair for more volume."
Is the word “tease” a Direct object or an Indirect object?
In sentences like "She loves to tease him," "him" is the direct object of "tease." "Tease" itself can be a direct object, as in "He doesn't appreciate the tease."
What is the singular form of tease?
"Tease" remains unchanged as it is a verb; its singular form is "tease." As a noun, it is also "tease" when referring to a person who teases.
What is the opposite of tease?
The opposite of "tease" could be "comfort" or "reassure."
Is the word tease Gerund?
The gerund form of "tease" is "teasing," which acts as a noun.
What part of speech is tease?
"Tease" is primarily used as a verb and can also function as a noun in contexts referring to a person who teases.
Which determiner is used with tease?
Determiners like "a" or "the" can be used with "tease" when it's used as a noun, e.g., "He is a tease."
Which vowel is used before tease?
Typically, no specific vowel is used before "tease," but an article like "a" or "the" can precede it in a sentence.
Which preposition is used with tease?
Prepositions like "about" or "with" are commonly used with "tease," depending on the context, e.g., "She teased him about his singing."
Is tease a noun or adjective?
"Tease" is primarily a verb and can also be used as a noun to describe a person who teases. It is not an adjective.
Is tease an adverb?
"Tease" is not an adverb.
Is tease a negative or positive word?
"Tease" can be both negative and positive depending on the context and the nature of the teasing. If done in a friendly, playful manner, it's positive; if it's hurtful or malicious, it's negative.
Is tease a vowel or consonant?
The word "tease" starts with a consonant.
Is the tease term a metaphor?
"Tease" can be used metaphorically to describe actions that playfully provoke or mimic the act of teasing.
Is tease a collective noun?
"Tease" is not a collective noun.
Which conjunction is used with tease?
Conjunctions such as "and" or "but" can be used with "tease" to connect it to other ideas in a sentence, e.g., "She likes to tease and joke around."
Which article is used with tease?
The definite article "the" or the indefinite article "a" can be used with "tease" when it functions as a noun, depending on the context.
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Written by
Urooj ArifUrooj is a skilled content writer at Ask Difference, known for her exceptional ability to simplify complex topics into engaging and informative content. With a passion for research and a flair for clear, concise writing, she consistently delivers articles that resonate with our diverse audience.
Co-written by
Fiza RafiqueFiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
