tease

/tiːz/

tease verb: to separate the fibres of (a fibrous material).

Verb

tease (third-person singular simple present teases, present participle teasing, simple past and past participle teased)

(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 in a playful way.
- The difference between teasing and taunting is like the difference between kissing and spitting. The ingredients are the same; it is the emotion that determines whether it is pleasing or repellent.... Proper teasing says, in effect, "I know all your little oddities and faults, but as they are part...1998 February 22, Judith Martin, “Tease and sympathy”, in The Washington Post
- The beast in the past has done horrible stuff / And his victims were left quite displeased / No one knows what he's so angry about / Maybe once in third grade he was teased2008, Lich King, “Attack of the Wrath of the War of the Death of the Strike of the Sword of the Blood of the Beast”, in Toxic Zombie Onslaught
Synonyms:

razz, chaff
(transitive) To provoke or disturb; to annoy.
- Not by the force of carnal reason, / But indefatigable teasing.1684, Samuel Butler, Hudibras
- I am myself, the sweetest temper'd man alive, and hate a teasing temper; and so I tell her a hundred Times a day—1777, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The School for Scandal, I.ii
Synonyms:

ride
(transitive) To manipulate or influence the behavior of, especially by repeated acts of irritation.
- A young woman, if she fall into bad hands, may be teazed, and kept at a distance from those she wants to be with; but one cannot comprehend a young man’s being under such restraint, as not to be able to spend a week with his father, if he likes it.1815 December (indicated as 1816), [Jane Austen], chapter XIV, in Emma: […], volume I, London: […] [Charles Roworth and James Moyes] for John Murray, →OCLC, page 260
(transitive) To entice, tempt.
- [H]ere comes my Helpmate!—She appears in great good humour——how happy I should be if I could teaze her into loving me tho' but a little——1777, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The School for Scandal, III.i
(transitive) To deliberately arouse someone sexually with no intention of satisfying that arousal.
- My favorite fantasy is being tied down and teased and teased.1976 February 7, Rosenjoy, “Sadomasochism: The Theory And The Practice”, in Gay Community News, volume 3, number 32, page 11
(informal, transitive) To show as forthcoming, in the manner of a teaser.
- a less interesting character here than in the previous two films, Caesar glowers through the movie, as though aware that he has been condemned to a script that is rushing to clear the stage for the straightforward Planet Of The Apes remake first teased in Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes.2017 July 7, Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, “The ambitious War For The Planet Of The Apes ends up surrendering to formula”, in The Onion AV Club

Noun

tease (plural teases)

One who teases.
A single act of teasing.
One who deliberately arouses others (usually men) sexually with no intention of satisfying that arousal.

Synonyms:

cock tease, cocktease, cockteaser, prickteaser

tease meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

tease in Hindi

to poke fun at: छेड़ना cheṛnā, शरारत śarārat, मजे लेना maje lenā

tease in Tamil

to poke fun at: சீண்டு cīṇṭu
to provoke or disturb: சீண்டு cīṇṭu, கலாய் kalāy

tease in Marathi

to tease, provoke, irritate: डिवचणे ḍivacṇe
to tease; make fun of someone playfully or mockingly: चिडवणे ciḍavaṇe
to tease, josh, annoy: छळणे chaḷṇe

tease in Urdu

to tease, annoy: ستانا satānā, چھونا chūnā
to tease; annoy; harass: چھیڑنا cheṛnā

More languagesFewer languages

tease in Bengali: উত্যক্ত করা, ঠাট্টা করা
tease in Telugu: పోరుపెట్టు pōrupeṭṭu
tease in Malayalam: കളിയാക്കുക, ശല്യപ്പെടുത്തുക, അലട്ടുക
tease in Kannada: ತೆವರು, ಕೀಟಲೆ ಕೊಡು, ಕೀಟಲೆ ಮಾಡು, ಚುಡಾಯಿಸು
tease in Odia: ଚଳାଇବା caḷāibā
tease in Assamese: জোঁকা zü̃ka
tease in Nepali: चिढाउन
tease in Thai: ล้อ lɔ́ɔ, แซ็ว sɛo, ยั่ว yûua, อ่อย ɔ̀i
tease in Vietnamese: chọc, chọc ghẹo, ghẹo

Examples of tease in a sentence

You're such a sport! You never get upset when we tease you.
The teasing of her curls took nearly an hour with the fine-tooth comb.
Ha ha, we were teasing our mom that she's a golden girl now.

All 40 example sentences with tease

Synonyms of tease

All synonyms of tease

Forms of tease

Verb
third-person singular present	teases
present participle	teasing
past participle	teased
past	teased
alternative form (obsolete)	teaze
alternative form (obsolete)	teize
alternative form (obsolete)	tieze
Noun
plural	teases

Past tense of tease: teased

Plural of tease: teases

Origin of tease

From Middle English tesen, from Old English tǣsan (“to tease”), from Proto-West Germanic *taisijan (“to separate, tug, shred”).

Words formed from tease

Phrases with tease

tease and blues

Words that rhyme with tease

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about tease

What does tease mean?: Tease means to separate the fibres of (a fibrous material).
What is tease in Hindi?: Tease in Hindi is छेड़ना (cheṛnā), शरारत (śarārat), मजे लेना (maje lenā). See Tease meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is tease?: Tease can be a verb or a noun.
How do you pronounce tease?: Tease is pronounced /tiːz/.
What is the past tense of tease?: The past tense of tease is teased.

Words near tease in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-tease.ogg.

Cite this entry: “tease.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/tease. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.