taunting
Syllables: taunt·ingUK/ˈtɔːnt.ɪŋ/US/ˈtɔnt.ɪŋ/
taunting is the present participle and gerund of taunt.
Meaning of taunt
Verb
taunt (third-person singular simple present taunts, present participle taunting, simple past and past participle taunted)
- To make fun of (someone); to goad (a person) into responding, often in an aggressive manner.
- John taunts his brother to reveal his hiding spot.
Noun
taunting (plural tauntings)
- The act of one who taunts.
- Because he often "dwelt in a world of terrors," he was susceptible to the tricks and tauntings of his playmates, who took advantage of his fears.1992, Rodney D. Olsen, Dancing in Chains: The Youth of William Dean Howells, page 8
Adjective
taunting (comparative more taunting, superlative most taunting)
Synonyms of taunting
Forms of taunting
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | tauntings |
| Adjective | |
| comparative | more taunting |
| superlative | most taunting |
Origin of taunting
From taunt + -ing.
Words formed from taunting
Words that rhyme with taunting
Questions about taunting
- What does taunting mean?
- Taunting means the act of one who taunts.
- What is taunting the present participle and gerund of?
- Taunting is the present participle and gerund of taunt.
- What part of speech is taunting?
- Taunting can be a noun or an adjective.
- How do you pronounce taunting?
- Taunting is pronounced /ˈtɔːnt.ɪŋ/ (UK).
- What is the plural of taunting?
- The plural of taunting is tauntings.
Words near taunting in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: taunting (page history and authors); taunt (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “taunting.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/taunting. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.